Prudence in Wishes
by minorshan
Summary: Phoebe is pregnant with her first child, and wishing she could share this with Prue. In 2001, Prue and Piper are worried about Phoebe. Magic mixes across time, bringing with it, unintended consequences for the past and future. Rating for mild language.
1. A Wish in Time

Phoebe reached up, wrapping her arms around Coop's neck, and sighed. "It's times like this that I miss Prue the most."

Coop raised an eyebrow and smirked. "When we're about to get ready for bed?"

Phoebe pulled herself out of his embrace, rolling her eyes as she did so, and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "You know what I mean!" Her hand slid down and rubbed her just slightly rounded belly absently. "We just found out that our little bundle of joy will be a little girl. I know, I've seen in her my visions, but finally getting to see her on a real sonogram... it makes it real, you know? God knows every decision changes the future, as Piper learned not so subtly with Wyatt."

Coop wrapped his arms back around his wife in a comforting embrace and rested his head on top of hers. "She knows honey. She knows."

"Grams didn't know about Wyatt being a boy," she replied quietly. "Besides, I was thinking we could name her after Prue. If that's okay with you."

Coop kissed the top of her head. "I think that as the first Halliwell girl from a Charmed One, nothing could be more appropriate."

She smiled up at him before sighing and rested her head back on his shoulder. "Still. I just wish I could see her and tell her myself. Suddenly both of them were enveloped in a pink Cupid-like glow and disappeared.

The pair reappeared in attic of the manor. As Phoebe opened her mouth to ask Coop why he had taken them to the manor, Coops eyes widened and he pushed her to the ground, falling atop her, as a persons figure flew through the spot they'd just  
>vacated and slammed into a shelf.<p>

Phoebe may have been surprised, but she'd been doing this long enough to know a demon had appeared. They found themselves on the floor behind Aunt Pearl's couch and Phoebe instinctively pushed herself flush pushed her back flush against the couch's back. '_Wait. Aunt Pearl's couch? In one piece?'_ Before she could take the thought any further, she heard the yelp of one of her sisters, and concentrated on triangulating the location and activities of the demon. _'Oh. Two demons,' _she thought. _'Fantastic.'_

Her eyes narrowed as she let one of the demon's hate flow into her, careful to compartmentalize it from her heart. The sounds of a magical battle floated at the back of her consciousness, a part of her mind registering that there was something off, yet familiar about it. She shut her eyes as they rolled back into the back of her head, the demonic psychic energy bypassing her core and traveled down her arms, to her hands, feeling as heavy as any bowling ball.

Simultaneously, she popped out from behind the couch and hurled the energy balls, her empathy registering the demon's locations before she'd seen them with her eyes. The energy balls each swung in opposite directions, like heat seeking missiles, and quickly found their targets. As both demons were engulfed by the tell-tale flames of a vanquish, Phoebe turned her attention to Coop. "You alright, hon?"

Coop drew up to his full height and dusted himself off. "I've been worse." He stopped moving as he looked up.

"That's not a good measure in this family," replied Phoebe before noticing that Coop seems frozen on the spot.

"Why isn't she freezing?" Phoebe heard Piper, who sounded panicked.

"Why would I? And why did you freeze Coop?" Phoebe asked as she waved a hand in front of her husbands face.

"Demon's generally do," replied a second voice, pitched low in a warning tone. And then Phoebe stopped and blinked, not moving. _'That was Prue's voice. That was __**Prue's**__ voice.'_ She didn't move as a fear that she knew was irrational, that if she moved, Prue would disappear, gripped her heart. And she hadn't even seen her yet. Although she'd become an empath after Prue had died, she would recognize that heart anywhere.

"I think she froze this time," said Piper.

"Or is trying to trick us into thinking she froze, so we let our guard down and she kills us," replied Prue. "Try and blow her up."

"No, no, no! I could hurt you again!" answered Piper, nervously.

It was this statement that got Phoebe's survival instinct moving again, and she quickly whipped around, throwing her arms up in supplication. "Whoa! No, no! I'm your sister – not a demon or a warlock or anything!"

"Yeah. Right. Phoebe's downstairs in the basement. And besides, you look like a bad copy of her. You really should work on your shape-changing skills." Prue raised a hand in preparation to fling Phoebe. "Now, tell us what kind of demon, or whatever you are and I promise we'll make this as quick a vanquish as possible. Can't say about making it painless, though."

Phoebe's mind acted quickly, trying to figure out how to avoid her reunion with Prue ending with her sister killing her. "Wait – hey. Hold on... what kind of evil being vanquishes other bad guys?"

Prue furrowed her brow. "What kind of good being has demonic powers? Don't think I didn't see those energy balls."

Piper nodded. "Besides, demons kill each other all the time. Comes with the being evil part, I think. So -" she flicked her hands again, which got her a blast that destroyed a nearby couch cushion.

"HEY! WHOA! Seriously!I'm not a demon! Just listen for a sec-" She took a step forward and slipped her hand into the back pocket of her jeans, to pull her iPhone from her back pocket, and Prue reflexively flung Phoebe up and back. _"Holy crap!"_ she yelped as she managed to slow herself down enough with her levitation to turn what would have been a massive crash into a wall into a gentle bump. She hung there in mid air, again throwing her hands up in supplication._ "Seriously! _I _am_ Phoebe! Just - from the future! Look!" she cried, gesturing wildly at her hovering form. "See? Phoebe power!"

"Hi. Yeah! We've also met a demon who could fly!" shot back Prue, as she put her hands on her hips definitely.

Phoebe grumbled as she landed softly back on the ground. "How do I prove it to you?"

Prue raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you're really from the future, what are you doing here?"

Phoebe opened her mouth, then shut it again. She sighed. "That's a good question. Coop and I were just talking, and we hugged, and we appeared here. You must have screwed up a spell, or something."

Piper raised her eyebrows and gave Prue a questioning look. "How did she...?"

Prue shook her head. "That doesn't prove anything. They've probably been watching us."

Phoebe ran a hand through her hair nervously and bit her lip. This wasn't good. This was, in fact, very bad. But she could tell she'd hit on something; she just needed to figure out how to use that to her advantage. A light suddenly went off in her head. "Ok, listen... you said your Phoebe is down in the basement. So that means you guys must have vanquished the Woogey Man by now, right?" She tilted her head expectantly.

Prue and Piper exchanged surprised glances. Her eldest sister then crossed her arms. "I'm listening."

"Who else but one of us would know about the Woogey Man?"

"There are ways," replied Piper.

"Uh, okay..." Phoebe glanced around the attic, not really sure what she was looking for, until she saw it. She gestured at a corner filled with knickknacks. "May I?"

Prue nodded. "Slowly."

"Right. No sudden movements. I'd rather not blow up today, and by the way Piper keeps missing, I'm guessing this is sometime around when your powers first advanced. And were blowing up half our appliances because you kept getting startled." She could feel defensiveness and intrigue rise in Piper's heart at this last statement, though she didn't show it.

Phoebe had reached her destination by this point. "Okay, so... all this." She picked through the items, holding them up, one at a time as she told them about them. "This is the bunny that dad bought you before I was born. And that stitching along the neck was from when I ripped his head off as revenge for you ruining my favorite pair of jeans by drawing on them."

She picked up a small toy camera. "This was your favorite toy growing up, Prue." She gestured at the credenza that the items were resting on. "And this is the same furniture that we found the pet rock and 8-track tapes that we'd gotten rid of years before, when we went back to the seventies."

Prue cocked her head at this and finally really began to examine the woman claiming to be a future version of her sister. The features were all the same, but she seemed much more comfortable in her own skin. And certainly more pulled together. "... Phoebe?"

Phoebe's face broke into a wide grin that made her look much more like the Phoebe of her time. "Yes! I really am your sister," she said. Her features softened. "I swear it. Besides, if I were a warlock, you'd just vanquish me the second you figured it out, so why wouldn't I just blink away?"

"And he's with you?" asked Piper, nodding at the tall, handsome, but still very much frozen, man in the middle of the attic.

Phoebe nodded. "Speaking of which, could you let me unfreeze him? I'm afraid you might accidentally blow him up. No offense."

Piper eyed the brunette still, but had almost completely come around to her side. "Hey – I don't blame ya."

Prue had taken a few steps towards Phoebe, as if to get a better look, and soon seemed to come to a decision. "Well that explains the teleportation thing. Pink kinda ruins the bad guy vibe."

Phoebe quickly made her way over to Prue, but stopped short, her arms extended out. "You believe me?" Prue nodded, a little mystified by the gesture, but nodded succinctly. Phoebe quickly wrapped her arms around the sister she'd missed more than she'd ever thought it possible to miss anyone – even her own mother.

Prue, trapped in a vice grip, returned what she thought was a strangely intense hug. After a full minute, Prue finally asked, "gonna need to breath soon, Pheebs."

"Oh!" exclaimed Phoebe and she pulled back, blinking away tears threatening to spill over. "I'm sorry. I just... never mind."

"Well, I feel kinda insulted. When in the future did I become the third wheel sister?" remarked Piper.

Phoebe turned to other sister. "Oh, sorry Piper. It's..." she shook her head and gave a hint of an apologetic smile. "Sorry, it's a future thing." She gave her a quick hug. "You're not a third wheel. It's... something I can't talk about. Future consequences. You know how _that _is." At Piper's blank nod, Phoebe shook her head. "No, wait. You don't, I guess."

Piper scowled. "We're not that new at this. I know you can't change the future." Phoebe shook her head, chuckling. "What's so funny? Or are you a crazy person in the future?"

"_Nothing. _Don't worry about it. It's an inside joke... let's just say it's an inside joke we have in the future."

Piper shrugged. "If you say so... Wait. Does that mean we end dealing with time travel things a lot?"

Phoebe shrugged. "You could say that. But I can't."

"Future consequences," replied Prue.

"Exactly."

"So, what was that thing you were pulling out of your pocket before I so rudely interrupted you?" asked Prue.

"Just my phone. I was going to show you some pictures, so you'd believe who I was." Phoebe pulled the phone out from her back pocket, clicked it on, and swiped her finger across the screen. A picture of a Piper with longer hair, holding a two little boys steady in front of her, as they rode on top of an elephant appeared.

"Whoa. Just how far into the future are you from? That looks like something out of Star Trek!" exclaimed Prue. "That's a phone?" she finished incredulously.

"This? Yeah. I need to upgrade this thing though. I took this picture last week, but I had to climb on top of the pen's fence to get close enough to get a decent picture. It doesn't even have digital zoom."_  
><em>

"You took that picture with a phone? Is that high definition?" Phoebe smiled at her sister's immediate fixation on the photography technology.

Piper had leaned over at this point. "Who are those boys I'm with? Are they mine?"

This had gotten Prue's attention shifted back. "The bigger one does kinda look like Leo..."

"But, but, they're boys!" Piper tilted her head. "It couldn't be... they barely let us get married. Kids would just be super forbidden – how would we even hide a half whitelighter baby?"

Phoebe shrugged. "You'd be surprised," she said mysteriously.

Piper just eyed her for a moment, before looking back at the picture. "II mean, I know we had in that future we saw, so I take it we figured something out. Just like with the rutabaga..."

"Rutabaga? Oh, yeah. Rutabaga..." said Phoebe. "Anyway, I can't say anything more."

"Wait a minute, I have a girl. I saw it. Her."

Prue nodded. "Phoebe never said they were yours. Maybe they're your nephews. Maybe they're mine or Phoebe's" Prue looked at her future sister for confirmation, but was interrupted before Phoebe could react.

"Maybe what are mine or your's, Prue?" By the other Phoebe. When her query was met by silence, she repeated herself. "Prue? Hey, who's that?" she asked, seeing the back of a strange women in the attic with her sisters. When the woman turned around her jaw practically hit the floor.

"What the..."

"Hey, Pheebs," said Prue with a smile. "Look who came for a visit! You!"

The younger Phoebe was frozen in her tracks, but the older simply gave her a slightly embarrassed smile. "Write any spells lately?"


	2. Connections

**Author's Note: **Alright. So, I had to tweak with the canon just a bit for this. Unfortunately, there's no point, before Prue dies, that Cole isn't disappeared or fighting with Phoebe during the period that I wanted to set this. So, just pretend that they're reconciled, if not entirely a-okay at the moment. Which isn't too far off.

**Chapter 2: Connections**

The younger Phoebe just stood there, her mouth agape, eyes gradually widening.

"Trying to catch some flies, there Phoebe?" asked Piper. At this the younger Phoebe closed her mouth, but approached slowly, not taking her eyes off of her older self.

When Phoebe had gotten within a few paces of herself, the older one smirked. "Weird, right?"

The younger Phoebe blinked. "Uh… yeah, you could say that."

The older Phoebe simply chuckled. "Try meeting geriatric us." Her eyes rolled upwards as she considered something. "Which should be… like a year from now?" She turned back to her sisters. "When is this, anyway? Exactly, I mean. I'm guessing sometime in 2001, maybe the end of 2000, but that whole year was kind of…" she waved a hand around, searching for the right word. "Let's go with busy."

Prue nodded. "April, 2001."

"Wait - does that remark mean we'll finally have some peace in the future?" asked Piper. She couldn't imagine raising a child with the way their lives currently were. It had taken two tries for her and Leo to even get married, and they still hadn't gone on their honeymoon.

"You could say that," answered Phoebe. "More or less. Certainly less than in this time."

"That would be nice, I could use some peace," remarked Prue. The shadow that seemed to pass over Phoebe's expression at this remark wasn't missed by her, but it was so fleeting, she wondered if she'd really seen it.

"She really is me?" asked the younger Phoebe.

The older Phoebe nodded, and Prue shrugged. "As best we can tell. And it's not like it's impossible."

The wide grin split across the younger Phoebe's face as the idea sunk in. "Are you here to tell us about the future?"

The older version laughed. "No, no, no. Truth be told, I still don't know how I got here. I'm assuming one of you cast a spell?" She looked between her sister's faces. When no one response she crossed her arms. "Not only am I your sister, I've got seven years on you, and can smell a spell gone awry from a mile away! We're not gonna fix this until someone spills. And I can tell by the look on my own face, it wasn't me. So?"

Prue and Piper both exchanged a look before each slowly raised a hand. "We… may have written a little spell," said Piper.

"Something about the future, and me I'm guessing?"

Prue nodded. "You're good, Phoebe, I'll give you that. I always figured you'd end up as a walking Book of Shadows." She spared a glance at both Phoebes. "In a good way." The younger gave Prue a look that said, 'Really?'. Prue nodded in affirmation, giving her sister a warm smile.

The older meanwhile, laughed. "Me? Hardly. You know I've wanted to give up the witch game more than once over the years," she looked at Piper for affirmation, forgetting for a moment that this wasn't her Piper.

"What!" exclaimed the younger Phoebe. "Why?"

"Yeah, Phoebe, I thought you thought becoming a witch was the best thing that ever happened to you?" asked Prue. Her eyebrows had scrunched together with concern.

Phoebe returned this look with another sad smile. "Mostly, yeah. Look… a lot of…" she sighed as she knew she couldn't warn them that Prue would die in less than a month. "… things will happen this year. Terrible and wonderful things. And plenty more after that. Maybe it was just me growing up – I don't know. But there were times that I wanted to give it all up – tried to even." Phoebe looked at her younger self, who wore a look that made her suddenly regret being so honest. She knew none of them were prepared for what was ahead.

"Do you still want to?" asked the younger of her future self. "Give up magic, I mean?"

The older shook her head with a genuinely warm smile now as thought about her life now. A hand unconsciously floated to her stomach. "No. Not anymore. It's brought me more good than bad."

The younger Phoebe swallowed hard. "It's Cole, isn't it?" Piper and Prue each silently put an arm around their little sister, who had gone through so much with the half-demon love of her life, and squeezed her in comfort; silent but solid.

"No… no. Cole never made me want to give up magic," she answered softly. She though back to what she and Cole had gone through at this time. The trust issues, running from the Source's assassin, the lies that he told to protect her – which had, of course, come back to bite them both on the ass. It was always their problem, in the end. "Now, did he make me want to give up on men a few times? _That_ he did. But I think you already know that, if I remember what's going on right now correctly," she finished, giving her younger self a wry look.

Younger Phoebe shrugged in acquiescence and smirked. "I guess you have a point."

"I have my moments."

"But – terrible things. You said 'terrible' things. Not bad. Not even sad. Terrible!" interrupted Piper.

Prue grabbed Piper's hands, pushing them down to her sides before she started waving them around and blowing stuff up. "Whoah, there Piper. I think we've lost enough furniture to your rants lately." She looked over her shoulder at Phoebe. "But she's right. I don't like the sound of that. Are you sure you're not here to fix them?"

The older Phoebe shook her head. "You said you cast a spell. Can I see it?" Prue gave her a look at that said she wasn't going to be brushed off for too long, before handing Phoebe a piece of paper from a nearby table. Phoebe read the spell silently, as did her younger self over her shoulder.

_Worried family could use a clue,_

_On what our little sister should do,_

_We ask the future to let us borrow, _

_The knowledge of our sister of tomorrow,_

_Only for a moment's time,_

_Let us see the future line_

The younger Phoebe looked up. "Aw, that's sweet guys. I know things with Cole have been kinda crazy, but looking at what happened I think this was a personal gain thing." She looked at her older self for confirmation.

"A little personal gain blowback would have been the least that could've happened with this spell." Phoebe shook her head. _'Thank God they didn't say youngest sister, or Paige would've been here explain herself. Would've been nice for her to meet Prue, though…' _

"What do you mean? What's worse than personal gain?" asked Piper nervously.

'_God… she's so young.' _Thought Phoebe. "Nothing – not really, I guess. But knowledge spells – future spells are especially dangerous."

"How could knowledge be bad? Especially about the future, if you can change it," said Prue.

"You remember I said I'd met my geriatric self?" The other sisters nodded. "Yeah, that was a spell I cast to give me the knowledge to make an important decision. Anyway, old me showed up, but so did ten year old me."

"Oh, that must have been delightful," replied Prue sarcastically. "No offense," she added quickly.

"None taken. I know I was a handful. Anyway, if she'd been hurt, I would have ceased to exist. Almost did, if it weren't for Cole-"

"-so Cole is still around?" asked the younger Phoebe.

"-and my old self _did_ die, protecting us." Phoebe finished, purposely plowing forward past her younger self's question.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Piper.

"See? Now we can prevent it this time around!" answered Prue.

Phoebe shook her head. "No. I mean, yeah, _I'm_ not going to end up like her. But I almost did, if it weren't for Coop. I'm guessing the Elders never sent her a cupid in her timeline. Or if they did, she shut them out." She sighed. "She was stubborn and wouldn't give out any information, even if it could have meant a better future for us. Not until the very end."

Prue raised an eyebrow. "Sounds familiar."

Phoebe narrowed her eyes at her. "Very funny," she deadpanned. "Look…" she made eye contact with all three sisters. "Let me ask you, and don't think I don't know the answer. What's the worst things that's happened to any of us?"

"Mom," they replied in a quiet unison. What about their mother when without saying.

Phoebe nodded. "But if you could, which really, you can… would you go back to stop it?"

Piper and Phoebe both cast their eyes down, and shook their ends, but Prue met Phoebe's gaze with her steely green eyes, as if she won that staring contest, she'd get the chance to do what her heart truly wanted, to save her Mommy. Finally, reluctantly, she answered. "No."

"And that's the most awful thing that's ever happened. But it's also the point. It's key. It made us who we are today, er, presently, respectively speaking. You go back, fix that, what changes? It was meant to be, so whatever happens it probably won't be for the better. Go back and vanquish the water demon before Mom ever encounters him, she would still be destined to die that day."

"And Death never gives up his target," replied Prue.

Phoebe gave her oldest sister a pained, slightly pleading, look. "I never said it was fair."

Prue sighed but a mischievous look soon crept across her face. "Say – when did you get to be the most mature one?"

Phoebe returned the smile. "Probably when I got those four extra years of experience on you. It comes with the crows feet, I think. Besides, I think the maturity issue a little moot in my time. We're all real respectable type adults in my time."

Prue tilted her head to the side. "It suits you. And hey – I'm not the oldest sister in the room for once!" she laughed.

Phoebe narrowed her eyes playfully. "Enjoy it while it lasts, missy! Anyway, I think you get my point. And there was a point where we realized that magic or no magic, nothing in life is guaranteed. Some things will always be unfair. It's about doing the best with what you're give."

"I take it back. You're not mature. You're 'Dear Abby'!" replied Prue.

Phoebe laughed. "You're not far off. It's actually 'Ask Phoebe', though."

"What?" exclaimed her three 'younger' sisters.

Phoebe shrugged, pulling out her phone again, and brought up a picture of one of her poster ads.

"You're famous?" asked Piper.

"Hi. She's on the side of a _bus_," replied Prue.

"_I'm_ famous?" exclaimed young Phoebe.

The older simply shrugged, putting the device away. "It's a living. More importantly, I love what I do."

"Little miss Phoebe…." Prue shook her head. "I can't say I saw that one coming. But I'm so proud of you!" She gave her sister a hug, Phoebe relishing every second of it, but trying to keep from holding on too long.

Piper nodded. "Me too, Pheebs."

"Okay, I'm okay with future. Forget I said anything about changing it!" cried the younger Phoebe.

Prue nodded in the direction of the still-frozen Coop. "So who's he, anyway?"

"Who's who?" asked a familiarly husky male voice from the doorway.

The older Phoebe's eyes flew to the doorway. "Cole!"

"Phoebe?" asked another male voice. Piper's freeze had finally worn off on it's own.

"Coop!" exclaimed Phoebe.

* * *

><p>AN part deux: Sorry. I can't help a good cliffhanger


	3. You Can't Go Home Again

**Chapter 3: You Can't Go Home Again**

"Huh?" replied Cole, as he joined the rest of the group in the attic proper.

"Oh, God," groaned older Phoebe. "I think I'm getting a migraine. Can you get a migraine this fast?" she asked Coop as he stepped beside her.

Cole, meanwhile, sidled up behind the younger Phoebe and wrapped his arms around her mid-section. "Who invited the cupid? And why is there another Phoebe?"

Coop's eyes darted around the room, taking in the scene. "We're in the past, aren't we?"

Phoebe looked up at her husband, then back at Cole, then back to Coop. "Yeah… I think somehow a spell they cast," she nodded her head at Prue and Piper, "interacted with your magic, because of what we were… discussing. And brought us here."

Coop shrugged. "It's possible, I guess. Or, at least why I was brought along with you. Because of our connection."

"Connection?" asked Prue.

As Coop began to open his mouth Phoebe quickly spoke before he could. "Yeah, you know, the cupid-client connection. He can feel what's in my heart – that kinda thing. You know, like whitelighters!" she said a little too eagerly. She could feel the dubious looks her sisters and Cole were giving her.

"Too bad he's a cupid," answered seemingly oblivious Phoebe. "He's cute!"

"Phoebe…." began Cole in a low tone.

Phoebe playfully jabbed him in the ribs. "I meant for Prue, stupid!" She pulled his arms tighter around her as proof. "You're the only forbidden romance for me. Even if it _does _mean not seeing you for weeks at a time."

"Well, she's right about that much," remarked Coop. _'I never had a chance with Phoebe until we knew it wasn't forbidden.' _Coop looked down and exchanged a loaded look with his new wife. In that instant he knew that she hadn't told them who he was, and wasn't planning on it. He sighed, but smiled.

Cole, seeing this exchange, felt a spark rise up in him. "Don't be so sure. Cupids are born lotharios. I'm sure he could woo Prue if he had a mind to…"

The older Phoebe ground her teeth, determined to not repeat her elderly counterpart's mistake in broadcasting her feelings about Cole. If the worst she pulled off was simply giving him the silent treatment they could always assume they were fighting in her time. It happened enough in this time, after all_. 'It was always fire and ice with us. Not like with Coop.' _That was like slipping into a hot tub. Just a bit too burning hot at first, until you acclimated and then it simply hugged you in a warm, steady embrace. She unconsciously stole another glance at Coop.

But Cole had seen even that microsecond of expression. "I'm just saying. Cupids are always thinking with their hearts not their heads. So if he has a thing for Prue-"

"Cole!" interrupted Prue. "I'll have you know I have a mind of my own, bub!" She shrugged at Coop. "No offense – you _are _a babe."

Coop threw up his hands. "Hey, none taken. Love comes from the heart – not the head."

Cole grimaced. "See? Constantly making moves."

Piper rolled her eyes. "That's more Hallmark card than pick-up line."

"I'm just saying," he protested, a little jealous rage creeping into his voice despite himself. There was something off here. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't like it. Or this cupid.

But future Phoebe felt it. And she _didn't_ like that_."Cole…"_ she said in warning, trying to keep it from coming out as a growl. "Try and keep that demonic jealousy under control, would ya?"

Cole furrowed his brow. "I'm not jealous!" he replied defensively.

Phoebe gave him a sarcastic smile. "Really? That's funny, 'cause if you weren't feeling just a little bit of rage, then I wouldn't be able to do _this_." An energy ball crackled to life in her hand.

"What the…" said Cole.

"-hell?" finished the younger Phoebe. "I didn't become a demon, did I?"

"Yeah – that's a good question," said Prue, her voice a little hard." That's the second time I've seen you using demonic powers. Didn't you learn anything from your past life and her abuse of magic?"

Phoebe quickly shunted the green and black emotions she'd channeled from Cole to the side, banishing them to the back of her mind where she usually kept the feelings from those around her. She closed her palm into a fist, extinguishing the energy ball immediately, and met her sister's eyes. "I'm an empath."

That earned her another chorus of "What?" from everyone in the room but Coop.

"But that nearly killed Prue!" said Piper.

Phoebe's younger self pulled herself from Cole's embrace. "How is that possible?"

Prue shook her head. "It felt like my soul was nearly torn apart when I had it – and that was just a day! I thought that only immortals could handle that kind of power."

"That's what I thought at first. And it took a while to get used to it – believe me. But it wasn't anything like what happened to Prue. Piper did get me to punch Leo, though…" she added with a laugh.

"I what?" exclaimed Piper.

"The heart sometimes wants things that the head won't let it do. But throw that at a new empath, unfiltered, and…" he laughed. "Well, it's not all bad." He looked at Phoebe, recalling what she'd been through with Jason Dean.

"Just – marital problems," Phoebe answered quickly. "No big deal. Geez, Coop, try and not give them the wrong idea!" She was stretching the truth but the whole story would have taken too long if she'd could have shared it. "Don't worry about it."

Piper studied her for a moment before nodding. "Well, I guess it can't always be a honeymoon. Even if you're married to an angel."

"Hey, at least you're still married," pointed out Prue. "Not like that future we saw." She turned back to her sister from the future. "But seriously, how does empathy equal demonic powers?"

"Okay, you know how at the end there you nearly tore the house in half?" asked Phoebe.

"Right."

"It's similar to that. I don't know if it works differently because you were never meant to have it, or because I'm not immortal, but… let me back up. Our powers are tied to our emotions, right?" The three sisters and Cole nodded. "Right. So I can channel other people's emotions."

"So you can use their powers," concluded Prue.

"Exactly."

"That's a relief!" said the younger Phoebe.

Cole nodded. "I'm just glad it wasn't something that came from me. I don't think I could live with myself if I ever did something to hurt you."

Younger Phoebe craned her neck around. "I know, baby. Besides, haven't you noticed the other me is wearing a wedding ring?" She lifted her chin and Cole met her lips with his. Cole quickly shifted his left hand behind his back, obscuring any view of his own ring.

The older Phoebe swallowed the grab bag of emotions that roiled up in her stomach, literally as well as figuratively. She didn't hate him anymore, but she hated what had happened because of him. Sadness, anger, pity, regret, and a little sympathy rumbled in her gut. As she wished she could take comfort in Coop's arms, she felt his hand brush up against her back for just a moment, and she relaxed, knowing the he knew she wanted him there, but also respected that now was not the time. The past was still the past, even if she found herself reliving it.

"So what were you saying about your theory?" asked Prue, trying to get things back on track.

Phoebe quickly snapped back to the matter at hand. "Right. Yeah. What I think happened, is that when you cast that spell, it took me because, well, let's just say I was talking with Coop about a few things. And if my guess is right, today is April 15th, right?"

Prue nodded. "And?"

"And that's when I'm from. Well, April 15th, 2009, that is. And I was touching Coop while when it happened."

"A cupid's ring can take people through time," added Coop.

"So, you just happened to cast that spell on the same day," said Phoebe.

"And the magics all got tangled up in the mystical cosmos and _bam!_ It pulls you here," said the younger Phoebe.

"Basically, yes. If things didn't line up that way – who knows. Maybe you would have been the one who met geriatric us."

"This is all fascinating and everything, but what's your point?" asked Piper.

"You know, there's some things that never change about you, Piper. But the point is that the reason I'm here has nothing to do changing the past."

"What's that supposed to mean?" replied Piper.

"It means she can't change the past, Piper," said Prue sarcastically. "Or weren't you listening?"

"Does Prue ever learn to stop sharpening her tongue?" asked Piper of Phoebe.

"I… can't say," she answered honestly, if not clearly. She knew they'd interpret this answer as a future consequences thing. Well, that or her having a bit of fun at their expense. "Anyway, you wanted to know if things would work out for me in the future. If I was going to be okay."

"Well, are we? Uh, you?" asked Phoebe.

Future Phoebe nodded and looked to Piper and Prue. "You don't need to worry about me. I mean, I'll always need you to be there for me. But I'm fine in the future. Better than fine, actually." She touched her stomach again, and glanced down at herself for the briefest instant before giving her sister's a reassuring smile. "I promise."

Prue and Piper exchanged glances, but were meant with a wholly different look from their Phoebe. The younger Phoebe's jaw had dropped to the floor once again. "You okay, Phoebe?" asked Piper. "That was good news, you know."

Phoebe quickly snapped out of it and began excitedly slapping her sisters on their arms. "Phoebe! What the hell?" protested Prue.

"Don't you get it?" cried the younger Phoebe.

"Uh oh," said the older Phoebe.

"Get what?" asked Piper.

"You don't see it?" answered Phoebe, now practically jumping up and down in excitement, and she gestured at her future self.

Piper's eyes widened. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God, Phoebe!" exclaimed Piper and she broke into a toothy grin. "Congratulations!"

"Congratu-?" began Prue, but suddenly she saw it. The future version of her sisters was in terrific shape. Which made her slightly rounded midsection all that much odder. It could only one things. "You're pregnant?"

The older Phoebe smiled. "Yep. A little girl!"

"Oh, Phoebe! That's wonderful!" she pulled her older little sister into a hug. She and Phoebe were quickly engulfed by the other two Halliwells in the room.

"Air! Air!" cried out Phoebe.

All three sisters leapt back at this. "Oh! Sorry! Sorry!" exclaimed Prue. "I don't want to hurt my future little niece!"

The older Phoebe laughed at this. "I'm sure she's just fine!" The laughter left her eyes though when she saw Cole staring at her. It was an odd look. A conflicted look. And she could tell my his mixed feelings of fear and joy that he was worried that she was giving birth to a ¼ demon baby. "I'd like to name her Prudence, if that's okay with you, that is, Prue. I haven't asked the other Prue."

"Are you kidding me? I'm honored! I mean, it might get a little confusing around the Manor, but I'm sure we'll figure out a cute nickname for her, like PJ or something, yeah."

Phoebe smiled at her sister but couldn't bring herself to open her mouth, so just nodded. There would be no confusion around the Manor, or anywhere else for that matter. There would only be one Prue Halliwell alive in San Francisco. And she couldn't say anything.

"I got you pregnant?" he finally asked.

Phoebe licked her lips. "Yes, you did." It was once again the truth, but the real truth behind it wasn't what Cole would take away. But she couldn't handle Cole unleashing on Coop at the moment.

"And everything is okay? With her I mean. In there?" asked Cole, pointing to her belly. He'd heard what human women carrying demons often experienced. Hot flashes of hellfire, cravings for raw flesh, or worse.

Phoebe nodded and smiled. "It is. She is. She was conceived of a pure love."

"That's wonderful, Phoebe," he said, giving her the same mesmerized look that used to set her heart to flutter. Phoebe nodded again, meanwhile fighting to maintain a poker face that would give nothing away.

She suddenly clapped her hands together. "Well! Now that everything is as it is, let's get the magical mojo on the move on! Shall we? Shouldn't risk changing the past any more!"

Cole nodded. "She's right. And I don't think we want anything to happen to that baby girl."

"Right. Well, you said cupid's ring can let you travel through time, so what else is there to do?" said Piper.

"Memory dust." Phoebe grimaced. "Sorry."

"No!" exclaimed the other.

Phoebe shrugged. "I have to be safe. I know, I suck… Piper. Can you call Leo?"

Piper nodded and called out for her husband. As Leo orbed in, Prue turned to the younger version of her sister and put her hand on her shoulder. "She's right. Don't worry about it – you'll know about it again eventually."

Younger Phoebe put in an exaggerated pout. "I know… doesn't mean it doesn't suck, though."

"Tell me about it," replied Prue. "I could rest a lot easier knowing that you won't be stealing from my closet for the next 50 years."

"Ha. Ha. Ha," replied younger Phoebe.

"Is there something the matter?" asked Leo. Piper nodded her head to her right. Following the gesture he finally saw the older Phoebe. "What happened?"

"Long story short, Leo? Spell gone awry. I'm from the future. My cupid here can take me home, but you need to dust everyone else. The less details the better. Just.. let me plant the suggestion."

"Uh…" started Leo. At Piper's sad nod, took the situation for what it was and shrugged. "Okay, then." He pulled a small bag from his coat.

"Wait," said Phoebe. She turned to her sisters and Cole. "I'm glad this happened. And don't worry, I'll make sure you have the idea that I'll be fine. You won't have to worry."

"Oh, we'll always worry," replied Piper.

"It's what big sisters do," added Prue. "Just hopefully, not too much."

Phoebe gave them a soft smile, and thought about when they'd first met Paige, and how she'd had to learn to take care of a younger sister without being over bearing. "I know." She gave a quick hug to Piper. "And don't worry about that new power."

"You know how I can get rid of it?" asked Piper, only half-jokingly.

Phoebe pulled bag and gave her sister a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "You'll get the hang of it. And you'll kick some major ass."

Piper raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Yeah? So, what, I'm a badass married witch in the future?"

Phoebe laughed. "Let's just say… you're like Captain America – and that power has saved the day more times than I can count. But you can do it all backwards and in high heels."

Piper searched her older sister's little face, and finding nothing but genuineness there, shook her head with a bemused smile. "If you say so."

Phoebe painted on a faux-serious expression. "Oh. I do. I do say so. But seriously… you'll get the hang of it, I promise. New powers are always a bitch."

She turned to Prue, getting in one last hug and whispered a short simple phrase. "Thank you."

"Try and stop me," Prue whispered back. Phoebe stepped back, took her place next to Coop, and nodded at her younger self who was once again cuddled against Cole.

"Ready?" asked Leo.

Phoebe nodded. "I love you."

The gathered inhabitants of 2001 variously waved or smiled at her. A moment, and the Leo blew memory dust at them, one by one, moving down the line. Phoebe began their instructions. "You'll go to bed as soon as I leave, and sleep until Leo comes to wake you. You won't remember that I was ever here, but you'll feel reassured that one way or another, everything will turn out right in the end for me."

One by one the dusted people left, leaving Phoebe, Coop, and Leo alone in the attic."Leo, I need you to promise me that under no circumstances will you ever mention this to anyone. That's the only way I can ensure I haven't messed up the past. You don't have any details, which is why I needed you to do this."

Leo nodded. "I understand." As Phoebe turned to take Coop's hands in her. "Phoebe?"

"Yeah, Leo?"

"You look good. I'm glad you're happy."

Phoebe smiled. "Thanks. You take care of my sister."

Leo nodded. "Always."

Phoebe smiled. "I know." They exchanged warm expression and he left the room to make sure the dusted members of his family were where they should be.

Phoebe sighed. "Thanks for not… you know."

Coop nodded. "No problem. Not exactly what you were hoping for." It was a statement, not a question.

"No... I mean, don't get me wrong, I wasn't sure my heart was going to take it, getting to see Prue again. But… it's not the same. I couldn't tell her anything. It was weird – like I was lying to her, when all I wanted to do was open the floodgates and tell her everything that happened in the last eight years. About how much I missed her!"

"A guarded heart is never full. An open heart is never empty." Phoebe looked up at him. "A cupid proverb. It's one of the first things we learn."

"It's nice." She sighed again. "And true. I just wish I could share this with 2009 Prue…"

"I know, honey. I know." A pink glow engulfed the pair, once again whisking them through space and time. They reappeared in the attic, and glanced around, noting the changed scenery. "Well, this certainly isn't 2001." The room was neatly tucked away, like no one had been there recently. Another glance around and they realized that something else was wrong.

"Did Leo go on another Spring Cleaning bender?" thought Phoebe aloud. "Where's all the magical stuff. Where's the Book of Shadows?" Before he could weigh in with his opinion they heard the clop of shoes coming up the stairs and a pair of voices in a heated discussion.

The door swung open and Piper and Paige walked in. "I'm telling you, you need to let us help you. Especially with the mandatory blood tests on the horizon!"

"Blood tests?" asked Phoebe, looking up at Coop. "How long were we gone?" Coop shrugged, his attention on the door. The swell of emotion coming from Phoebe when he'd started to beam them to the present had surged through him from his ring, and something about the transport seemed a little off. But he knew for a fact that they were in the present.

"And _I'm_ telling you that I love you guys, I'm glad I found you, and that's why I can't just run and hide. I don't want to be arrested, but c'mon – no one even knows I'm your sister." replied Paige haughtily.

"And it needs to stay that way. I won't lose another sister!" replied Piper, her voice rising.

"No – look, I've built a carreer on helping people. The last thing I'm going to do is abandon the people out there being wrongly persecuted – let alone my own family!"

"Paige-" began Piper in rebuttal, but Phoebe broke in.

"Uh, guys? Not to interrupt your little argument but what the hell is going on? And what did you do with the Book of Shadows?"

Both women froze on the spot when they saw her and Coop. Piper's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Phoebe?"

"_Piper_…" replied Phoebe slowly.

"Is that really her?" asked Paige. "How is…?"

"Uh, yeah, Paige. It's really me. And what did you do to your hair?"

Piper's eyes welled up with tears and her bottom lip trembled. "Phoebe?"

"Yes. Me Phoebe. _You _Piper. _You_ Paige."

In the exchange, no one had noticed the sound of a set of heels coming up the stairs behind them. "You guys up there? I thought I heard something. Look, I've got 15 minutes before a meeting with the Tok…yo… branch…" she trailed off. "Ph-ph-Phoebe?"

It was Phoebe's turn to sport plate-sized eyes this time. "Prue?"

Coop smirked despite himself. Whatever had happened, he knew everything would be fine. One thing the Halliwell family wasn't, was boring.


	4. Lessons Not Learned

**Chapter 4: Lessons Not Learned**

Coop quickly bit his lip to wipe the look from his face, as he had quickly learned not too long ago, that the Halliwell temper could turn on a dime with strangers when they were emotional. Especially Piper. And by the looks of things, they likely didn't know who he was.

Piper swallowed hard. "What's? What's going on?" And then the room broke out in a cacophony of voices.

"Who summoned her?" exclaimed Prue.

"Summoned me? Who summoned you?" asked Phoebe.

"I know I'm still pretty new to magic, but I thought bringing back the dead was kind of a forbidden sort of thing," said Paige.

"Why would anyone summon Prue?" cried Piper.

"If you're some kind of sick demon who thinks it's funny to pose as our dead sister..." warned Prue, raising a hand.

At this motion, which he'd just see from the same sister in the past, Coop lept to action before they could find out just what her powers had become, and let loose a piercingly loud whistle. The room instantly went silent again. "Ladies. I promise you, we aren't demons."

"Wouldn't that be exactly what a demon would say?" replied Paige.

"And exactly what a non-demon would say, Paige!" answered Phoebe.

The youngest Halliwell sister blinked, thrown off for a moment. "You know my name?"

"Not even the demonic world should know about her," said Piper. "I cast a spell to cloak her-"

"You cast a spell, Piper? I thought that we agreed – absolutely no more magic. Not since we were too late to save... Phoebe." Her eyes drifted back to the woman who looked like her recently deceased sister, but not.

"I never agreed to anything," said Paige.

"And you would have known what I'd done if you'd have shown up the last time I said we needed to talk, Prue," answered Piper.

"Bucklands London needed-" began Prue.

"Excuses, excuses, Prue. You should just change your last name to Bucklands. You're more committed to it than your own family," remarked Piper.

"Don't we have bigger problems right now?" exclaimed Paige, failing her arms Phoebe before running a hand through her short, bobbed, and oddly, red again, hair. Phoebe looked at the scene and suddenly the puzzle pieces dropped into place in her mind.

Her eyes flitted from Paige to Piper, whose hair was almost the same, but a bit shorter, and more coiffed than her sister bothered with while balancing two boys, a club, and a soon to be opened restaurant. And then she finally bothered to actually take Prue's appearance in. Clad in a revealing business suit with satin skirt, and long hair, down to her hips, hair. But most importantly, _blonde_ hair. And Phoebe realized she'd seen this Prue before – sort of.

"Oh, God!" she exclaimed, a hand flying to her mouth. "I'm dead. I mean, not me, your me. Your Phoebe was just burnt at the stake, wasn't she?"

The three bickering sisters stopped and all eyes were on Phoebe – who promptly slapped Coop's wrist. "You took us to the wrong reality!"

"Hey! Don't look at me! You must have redirected us!" He held up the hand with his ring. "This thing isn't exactly science. What were you thinking about when I beamed us?"

"Wrong reality?" asked Paige.

"Beamed?" asked Piper.

"Is she saying she's from the past?" said Prue.

Phoebe shrugged. "Nothing. I mean, I was just thinking that it was the Prue from our time that I really wanted to talk to."

Coop shook his head. "There has to be something more to that. What were you _literally_ thinking?"

"That I wanted my time's Prue. 2009 Prue... Oooooh. Oh. Okay."

"What's okay?" asked Paige, who seemed less guarded, most likely due to her apparent lack of experience. "Are you or are you not my lost sister?"

"I am... sort of?" She sighed. "It's complicated."

Piper put her hands on her hips. "So it would seem."

"I'd love for this to be real, really, I would," said Prue. "But we cast a spell to find a lost sister and you never came. Thankfully, we found Paige before she was inadvertently exposed, but you never came."

"I'm not your Phoebe."

Prue narrowed her eyes. "But you're not evil..."

"No. I don't know if I can say the same you guys, though. Or the other me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Piper, her hackles raised.

"Punishing the guilty. We all strayed from the path in this alternate future," answered Phoebe gently. "But I thought we fixed that?"

Coop shook his head. "Alternate realities don't just disappear. They have a life their own. That's how I was able to take you to the changed reality where Cole was finally vanquished."

"Wrong reality. Alternate realty, you went to the future, what are you talking about?" Piper's rising frustration was evident in her voice. "And what do you mean you fixed it?"

"Calm down, Piper. I'll explain everything – well everything I can, anyway. I promise."

Prue crossed her arms. "Okay, how about we start with how you know about Paige."

"Okay…" started Phoebe.

Prue immediately held up a finger and whipped out her cell phone. "Actually, hold up one second." She turned her attention to the person on the other end of the line. "Hi. Yeah. Look, push everything back. To tomorrow…. Uh, huh…"

Phoebe raised an eyebrow at this. She'd heard Prue say that her future self had been obsessed with work, but it was another thing to see it. Her eldest sister had always been dedicated to doing her job well, but never at the expense of family. She remember a time not long after Wyatt had been born that she's nearly gone down that same path. She looked at the other two. "She always like this?"

Paige shrugged but Piper nodded. "For a while now. Years. Not too long after Melinda was born. But it's been unbearable since the trials started."

Prue seemed oblivious to what was being said just a foot from her and Phoebe shook her head in understanding. "I almost did the same thing a few years ago. Went down that road, I mean. After you had your first baby, too."

"First?" asked Piper.

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah. I was up for national syndication. Turned it down, though after we had our senses stolen by the Crone. And that stupid monkey. Not that the mime helped, either."

"Mime?" asked Piper.

"Who's the Crone?" asked Paige.

"You didn't face her?" Both shook their heads as Prue continued to chatter on, oblivious. Phoebe sighed. "I suppose not. She only came around because Wyatt was twice-blessed. And without Paige…"

"Wait – without me?"

Phoebe nodded. "Why? When did _you_ find us?"

"Like, six months ago. Not too long after your, er… her? Anyway, after Phoebe's trial started. Why? When did the other me find you guys?"

Prue sighed in frustration. "Look – I gotta go. I'll call you back later. I'm sure you can find one peon capable enough. Uh-huh. Bye."

"Back in 2001. After Prue…"

"After I what?"

She paused a moment. "…. you died."

"Wait, wait, wait," replied Piper. "Slow down. You're saying you're from a reality where Prue died, where Paige found us eight years ago, and I – I could still conceive after…" She trailed off and the look on her Phoebe's face implied some terrible facts she was sure she'd rather not have the answers to. Which is when she realized that she couldn't feel anything from Piper or Prue – though Paige was radiating curious delight, mixed with a healthy dose of caution. Very much like her own Paige, if less confident.

"I take it I got empathy in this reality, and you guys took a blocking potion, too?" asked Phoebe. Prue and Piper nodded.

Phoebe shook her head. "I still don't know how I could have killed Cal Greene with that…"

Prue's head shot up at this. "You know Cal Greene?"

"Know _of_ him? Yes. Know him personally? No. Know what the other me did to him? Unfortunately."

Paige cocked her head to one side. "How?"

"Back in 1999 my sisters and I, not you of course, Paige, were sent by the Elders to the future – this future. We were sent into our future bodies to see the consequences of a path we had just taken the first step down."

"And that would be? I mean – we're not evil," protested Piper. "You made a mistake-"

"A little more than spilt milk," interjected Paige.

Phoebe gave Paige a wry smirk. "I see you still have that hard-headed sense of right and wrong in this reality, Sis."

Paige blushed. "Uh, thanks?"

"Don't worry – it's a compliment. You saved this family and were the first one to speak up when we started to drift off path more times than I can remember." Paige returned Phoebe's smile. "But getting back to the point. That day started off with some neighbor who kept letting his dog do his business on our front lawn, and Piper freezing him, and Prue flinging the crap back onto his shoes. That guy was Nathaniel Pratt."

"I… don't even remember that.." said Piper.

"Wait. Giving some guy his just rewards with a little dog crap outweighs all the good we've done? And Pratt of all people? Typical Elder bullshit…." muttered Prue.

"And that's the point. It's the little steps – the little decisions that mean so much in the long term. Like glaciers carve mountains over thousands of years. And that led to her crossing the ultimate line. We protect the innocent, we don't punish the guilty. That's someone else's job. I don't expect you to understand – but maybe you will, now that you see what it led me to. And maybe Paige will never have to go down that path at all."

"How do we really know you're telling the truth?" asked Prue.

Phoebe thought for a moment. "Was there anything off about the day I died?"

"Other than the obvious?" replied Prue, crossing her arms.

Phoebe shot her a look. "Yes. Other than that."

Piper furrowed her brow. "Come to think of it… that whole day is hazy. Until it was over and we saw your… you know."

Prue looked at Piper. "You too? I thought it was just because of everything that day. But come to think if it – we didn't really follow our originals plans for that day."

"And you didn't contact me at all," added Paige. "I just figured you'd decided not to risk bringing me."

Phoebe pursed her lips. "We didn't know about you. And what you guys did that day…"

"Wasn't us?" finished Piper. Phoebe nodded in affirmation. "That would explain why I remember kissing Leo. Don't remember what we were talking about, though."

"That's it! Call Leo." Piper made a sour face. "Oh, come on Piper."

"Oh, all right!" She threw up her hands. "Leo? Leo!"

Leo orbed in moments later, a little brown-haired girl holding his hand. "What is it? I'm supposed to have Melinda until tonight."

"Sorry to cut things short, Leo, but I'm in need of someone to vouch for my identity."

Leo spun around. "Phoebe?" He quickly whipped his head back at Prue and Piper. "What have you two done now? And Paige – I thought I told you. Forget magic. It's not safe for anyone, anymore."

"Oh, cram it Leo!" said Paige defiantly. "I have a right to follow my conscious, dangerous or not – and Piper and Prue didn't do anything. At least, not our versions. That part's a little confusing."

"I'm the Phoebe you met before _it_ happened." She minced words, not knowing what he had told his daughter. "The visitor…" Leo's eyes widened, and she could tell he'd gotten the hint.

"Auntie Phoebe!" exclaimed Melinda and rushed to wrap her arms around her Aunt's waist, hugging tightly. She looked up. "I thought you went to live with Grams and Gramma?"

Phoebe smiled down sadly at the little girl and stroked her hair. Piper and Prue had said she was beautiful, but having not ever seen the little girl, she had never seemed very real. Seeing this little girl that looked so much like her sisters at that age suddenly made her wonder how much not having her weighed on Piper's heart. _'The least I can do is tell her that she still exists somewhere. And maybe – if I'm lucky - leave this place a little better than I left it.'_

She knelt down, getting to eye level with the little ones. "I'm just here for a short visit. Grown-up stuff, you know?" She made a serious face, making Melinda laugh. "It's gonna be pretty boring – but how would you like to meet a good friend of mine?"

Melinda smiled. "Okay. Is it him?" She pointed at Coop.

"Right! Now, he's a cupid. Do you know what those are?"

Melinda scrunched her face up for a second before answering. "He doesn't look like a baby with wings…"

Coop smiled down and offered his hand to the little girl. "How about we go to your room and I'll tell you all about real cupids?" Melinda's face took on a delighted looked but she quickly looked back at her parents for permission. "Mommy? Daddy?"

"Go ahead, honey," replied Leo.

"Are you sure, Leo?" asked Piper. The woman seemed like her sister. Different in a lot of little ways, though. But if her story was true…

Leo nodded. "Any friend of Phoebe's is our friend too."

Melinda quickly took her new friend's hand and he hoisted her up, settling her on his left hip. "I'm Coop. What's your name?"

"Melinda. But everyone calls me Melly! Do you have wings?"

"Nope."

"How about a harp?"

"Afraid not…" he answered as he made his way to the attic door.

"You gotta have a bow and arrow at least, right?"

Coop laughed. "Some do. Not me though. I do have ring though…" He shot a smile over his shoulder, back at Phoebe. "Now, which way to your bedroom?" They made their way down the stairs, leaving the rest of the adults to talk freely.


	5. What Happened to Me?

**Author's Note:** Be forewarned. This Prue is the same one who said "to hell with the little people". Not even 1999 Prue liked this Prue. But perhaps we can answer the question her past self posed in"Morality Bites", for which this chapter is named:

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5:<strong> What Happened To Me?

Phoebe smiled. "She's beautiful, Piper."

"Thanks," replied Piper. "But then you always said so. Uh, so, Leo, I take it you know what she's talking about?"

Leo nodded. "I don't know how much she told you, but yes, she _is_ your sister. Or, at least a version of her. She and your past selves took control for most of the day that Phoebe was burned." He sighed. He wasn't sure proud was the word… but he had been relieved, for his daughter's sake, that the 1999 sisters proved to be wiser, in a naïve sort of way, in their youth, and brave enough to stick to their convictions. Certainly more humble. Not like what the women he knew had grown into over the years.

"So it's _your _fault that our sister is dead?" Piper asked Phoebe in an unbelieving voice, tinted with just the faintest hint of dangerous venom.

Phoebe felt like she could feel magical energy sizzle in the air, and she wondered if this alternate version of her sister had developed alternate powers to go with it. She shook her head. "No. It was _her _actions that brought that down. But I did choose to suffer the consequences for her." She sighed and looked down. "I don't know if it helps any, but I don't think she felt anything. I felt the full burn of that pyre."

Prue scowled. "No. It doesn't. Don't get me wrong Phoebe. I'm glad she didn't have to suffer. But they still made _you_ suffer – and you_ literally_ hadn't done anything wrong!"

"Prue…" began Leo.

"Shut it, Leo – before I let my Jimmy Choos take my anger out on your orbs," replied Prue. "And trust me. Stilettos hurt."

Phoebe's eyebrows shot up. "Prue… what happened to you?" Her face wilted into one of a little sadness. "You were always tough as nails, but…" and shook her head. "You were never mean."

Prue shrugged and replied in a flippant tone. "Do you not remember the time I threw out your favorite dolly because you used my first tube of lipstick as a crayon?"

Phoebe shook her head. "That's kid stuff Prue. The kind of stuff everyone does. Besides, I seem to recall you fished her out of the trash for me when I started to cry."

"I haven't changed all that much. Aside from the lighter hair and better wardrobe, anyway," she gave her sister a self-satisfied smirk and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"No… you have." Phoebe searched her sister's eyes. "But I bet you're still in there, somewhere. It's just this – this _timeline_ that's done you in."

Prue's frown took on a defensive, angered look. "Hey – I don't know what happened in _your _timeline, but I've done what I've done in this one to make life work. I learned that that's what our family needed to do to survive! We've all had dreams, Phoebe. But mine died with Andy."

"Him and the _other _guys that we've lost to magic," interjected Piper.

"Maybe you never lost anyone in your reality Phoebe," continued Prue, "But around here we learned a long time ago that magic owes us a few. And if heading off some assholes at the pass - punishing evil, rather than waiting for it to hurt us, is the wrong path, then so be it! I suppose your Cole turned over a new leaf, and you married, and lived happily ever after. But _our _Phoebe wasn't so lucky. That son of a bitch broke her heart into a million pieces. So, when she saw Cal Greene get away with the kind of evil _no_ so-called 'innocent' should be capable of… I just –" she threw up her hands. "What she did was justice, dammit!"

Phoebe pressed her lips together, trying to formulate a thought, rather than instinctively lashing out with a counter argument. It was tempting – and almost comforting – to fall into the kind of arguments that were a fundamental part of their relationship growing up. Finally, she sighed.

"No. Cole turned on me. He gave up his powers, became fully human, and –"

"He turned human?" asked Piper as her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Phoebe nodded. "But it didn't last long. Not because he didn't want to. He became the Source to save us. There might have been another way… I've kind of always thought that he took that route because he didn't know how to live without powers. He tricked me into a demonic wedding. I should have seen it… Paige tried to warn me, that something was wrong, but I didn't want to see it." She gave their Paige a small, apologetic smile, which Paige wasn't quite sure out to respond to. "It wasn't long after that, that I found out what had happened. I became queen of the underworld in a moment of pregnancy-induced insanity." She bit her lip for a moment, realizing she'd been rambling. "Long story short – we had to vanquish him, once I came to my senses."

"Not too far off from our timeline," replied Prue. "I mean, he didn't become the Source and you were never expecting a baby-"

"Did your Cole become invincible? Because mine did. And you try killing the love of your life once. Twice. Attempt a few more times… "

"Hold on – did you say invincible?" asked Piper. Phoebe nodded. "As in unvanquishable?"

"Oh, yes," said Phoebe.

"But how did you even fight him off?" began Piper.

"You, actually. Your baby was 'twice-blessed'," answered Phoebe to a room full of blank looks.

"Which I'm gathering means Melinda was not… I wonder why? Conception date, maybe? Anyway, let's just call him super powerful-"

"Whoa! Wait, wait, wait," cried Piper. "_**Him**_?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah. You had a boy. Two, actually, but that's a whole other story. But you were invincible while you were pregnant, because of his powers. That's the only way we were able to deal with his schemes to win me back. Especially after he lost his mind…"

"Our Cole got close to that. He never became human – but then, he never became the Source, either! You guys never got married, either. You, er, our Phoebe couldn't do it. Not with Cole being pulled between the forces of good and evil. But I think you're on to something about not being able to live without powers," said Piper. "He never seriously considered a power stripping potion. For one, we weren't sure what that would do to his demon half. And two-"

"-he didn't want to be helpless in a fight," finished Phoebe.

Piper smirked. "Guess our Cole's aren't all that different, after all."

"Unfortunately," remarked Prue, darkly.

Piper gave her a look before continuing. "He even went a little crazy at the end, when your relationship started unraveling… I was pregnant, and on bedrest for the last five months of it."

"With the power of three out of commission for so long, the demons got steadily more out of control. The Elders refused to let Piper stay up there for protection," growled Prue. "Cole, Leo, and our Phoebe, ended up on constant demon hunts – finding potential threats before they attacked. Piper was on lock down under crystal cage for the duration, and with the club struggling…"

"Wait. Didn't Leo bring in Dishwalla to play at P3 not long after it opened?" asked Phoebe. I mean, our timelines shouldn't have split until after we went to the future?"

Leo nodded in the affirmative. "I did. And the club did well for a while there. But we hit a rough patch. It was never really the same after it became 'The Spot'."

"You didn't change it back?" Phoebe asked incredulously. Piper and Prue shook their heads.

"Well, that was your problem right there. The same thing happened in our timeline. But, as my Paige said, 'anything that tries that hard to be hip? Isn't'."

Paige laughed. "I remember thinking that, when it changed. Still, I was sad to see the doors shut…"

"Just another reason I wish we'd had you around back then, if that's the case, Paige. The extra hands would have been nice too." She turned to explain to Phoebe. "Because of the complications… I couldn't focus on the club. _Thank god_ we had Prue to keep us afloat…"

"Complications?" asked Phoebe.

Piper sighed. "Scarring. It was a miracle I got pregnant at all, let alone was able to carry Melinda to term."

Phoebe furrowed her brow in sympathy and laid a hand on Piper's shoulder. "Oh, honey… I'm so sorry…"

Piper gave her a small sad smile. "It's okay." She nodded her head to one side. "I mean, it's not _okay_. But I'm at peace with it. Like mother, like daughter, right?" she finished, reflecting on her own mother's battles with infertility.

"But I don't understand… our Piper's doctors told her the same thing, but once she got pregnant…. Well, like I said - invincible. We never really talked about it, but I guess Wyatt making Piper self-healing…" Phoebe shook her head. "She had the same parents and was the first born… Melinda should've been twice-blessed, too."

"There's that word again!" exclaimed Prue. "What the hell is twice-blessed?" There was a tiny voice in the back of her head that said she shouldn't be snapping at Phoebe, but she'd spent too many years now with people kowtowing to her every whim, and a relationship with her Phoebe steadily growing more combative – it was instinct.

Phoebe raised an eyebrow at Prue. She and Prue may not have always had the best of relationships, but Prue had never seemed so… entitled. It reminded her of when she'd spoiled Wyatt just a little too often and the pouting began. Not surprisingly, her own instinct was to react the same as she had with Wyatt. She crossed her arms and leveled an incredulous look at Prue.

Piper was taken aback at this little stand-off between her sister, and this version of Phoebe that could have been. Truly striking was Phoebe's self-possessed calm. It was a trait that her own Phoebe had never mastered. One that had eventually brought all good magic under siege, thanks to her hot head. Piper smirked, as she recognized the look on Phoebe's face as one Grams had leveled at her little sister many times growing up.

Prue recognized that look too, but seeing it coming at her from her little sister left her feeling like she'd missed a parry in their usual verbal sparring, and was left disarmed and flustered. "Aa..." She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. "Well?" she finally asked.

Phoebe's eyes twinkled a little as she realized she'd unwittingly side-stepped what must have been the usual arguing that this Prue and her alternate self engaged in. "It was a prophecy. A child of great power, just as much as the Charmed Ones, but held by one being, would be born of two magical lineages." At the blank look she received from the other three witches continued.

"You know – witch and whitelighter..?"

"But Leo wasn't a whitelighter when Melinda was conceived," said Piper.

"Wait- I thought Leo became a whitelighter, like, back in World War Two?" replied Paige, who was still catching up on family history.

"I lost my wings. It was the only way to save Piper's life," replied Leo, whose face eyes softened a bit at the warm memory. Even if their marriage hadn't lasted, it was a fairytale for a while there.

"Right," said Phoebe. "Our Leo had to lose his powers to finally get together with Piper, too." She paused a moment as a thought occurred to her. "Leo, did you get your powers back saving Prue from jumping off a bridge?"

"What?" exclaimed Prue and Piper.

Leo quirked an eyebrow at this, but shook his head. "No. I can't say I even know what you're talking about…"

"The darklighter who cursed do-gooders with bad luck? He pushes people, gets in their heads, until they finally kill themselves." The others shook their heads, not knowing what she was talking about. "Margaret Murphy – the humanitarian?"

Paige cocked her head. "You mean that bad luck of the Irish lady, or something? I remember her. So sad."

"Oh, god, she must be…" Phoebe shook her own head. "I guess we only ran into that poor woman because Prue became a photographer."

"I did?" said Prue. Reality came back to her quickly. "I mean – she did? Was I… were we… _good_?" It was the softest, most vulnerable, Piper had seen Prue in ages, and the first glimmer of the sister Phoebe remembered.

The passion and love for what she really wanted to do was still there. A sudden sadness welled up in her chest. Her Prue may have died, but she knew she had been following her passion when it happened. This Prue's _body _hadn't died, but the flame inside her had nearly been snuffed out, and Phoebe couldn't help but wonder if she might be able to do a little good in this reality before she left. She wasn't sure how, just yet, but what good was a master's degree in psychology if she couldn't? "So, how _did _you get back your powers?"

"The Elders gave them back to me to get get into Piper's head when the Source tried to convince her that she was crazy and that she needed to get well for her unborn child."

"So... no crying out from your heart, getting your powers back through desperate passion?" asked Phoebe, throwing her hands around a bit.

Leo furrowed his brow. "Uh.. I'm afraid not."

Suddenly Phoebe realized something. "Wait – you didn't have your powers for a _year_?"

"Huh? No," replied Leo.

"Then you didn't lose them healing Piper?"

"No, I did."

"From Oroyo Fever?"

"Oroyo Fever?" asked Prue. "No. My Phoebe and I cast the Awakening spell."

"But what about the consequences?" replied Phoebe.

"We cast it on everyone, then erased the doctor's memories," said Piper.

"Wait, so you just left six people with permanent insomnia?" said Phoebe incredulously.

"Of course not," replied Piper. "We just cast another spell to fix that part."

"No wonder magic ended up exposed..." said Phoebe, shaking her head.

"Hey – it was_ your _plan, so get off your high horse," exclaimed Prue.

Phoebe sighed. "Yeah, well, it was a bad plan." She turned to Leo. "So just when _did _you lose your powers?"

"Healing Piper. It was a gunshot wound..."

"Let me guess," interjected Phoebe. "Hippie witch with a snipe rifle after we were caught on tape in a battle with Shax?"

Leo nodded solemnly. "I'm not supposed to heal wounds caused by non-magical means, but we'd left Piper's car at P3, and Prue's was at the airport parking lot. With everyone watching so closely, there was no way I could explain suddenly appearing at the hospital."

"Where was Prue?" asked Phoebe.

"I was in Japan, stuck in a meeting with our acquisition team," said Prue.

"You were at _work_?_"_

"I didn't _know_! I was in back to back meetings, and Leo couldn't exactly orb in!" said Prue defensively."

"And another near exposure," said Phoebe.

"I don't get it. Just what were we supposed to do in those situation?" asked Piper. "Just die?"

Phoebe considered this for a moment. "I know it sounds crazy – but yes. And trusting that it's not really your time."

"Just like it worked_ so well_ with Andy?" sneered Prue. "And I suppose it was just my time to die in your reality too? Yeah. Sounds like it's working _really_ well for you."

"Prue..." began Piper, attempting to stop her before her big sister said something she'd regret.

Phoebe swallowed hard. She supposed she should be angry, or hurt, at Prue's statement. But she could only feel pity. "You never put what happened to Andy behind you," she stated softly.

"You're damned right I didn't. At least I didn't throw myself into demon hunting, and get myself killed. And so what? I provided for this family when we needed it most. To protect my unborn niece, and keep food on the table while _you _were out gallivanting around with Cole, killing demons."

"Prue – you_ know _that was to protect this family, too!" protested Piper.

"Right. Because marrying a demon didn't endanger this family," said Prue, her face turning red. "And constantly antagonizing them didn't bring on more attacks, either, right?"

"You know we tried that – and that I damn well wasn't going to bind our powers, leaving us unable to defend ourselves!" Piper shot back, her tone getting more heated as well.

"We've already discussed this – I can still protect Melinda!" said Leo, joining the fray.

Piper snorted derisively. "Sure! If you couldn't be bothered to be here for your family before, I'm sure you'll do just great _now_!"

As the bickering continued, Phoebe side-stepped over to Paige and leaned in close to into her ear. "Old argument?" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Paige rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yeah. I mean, I don't see Prue all that often, but get those two together and talking about demons and..." she trailed off.

Phoebe gave Paige a sidelong smirk and the two exchanged a moment of unspoken communication that proved to Paige that this woman somehow, really did know her. Or some other version of her.. "Sisters, huh?"

"Apparently," Paige huffed, though the sentiment was more bemused than annoyed.

Phoebe elbowed her in the ribs. "Sorry I'm not here for you in this reality, by the way..."

"It's alright. Somehow I'm guessing that the other you wasn't quite the same."

Phoebe nodded. "I guess that's true. But hey, I'm here now. And I bet I know what kind of sister you are better than even you do, right now."

"I believe it. I _am_ still pretty new at this family thing." Paige raised an eyebrow at Phoebe. "So. What kind of sister am I, exactly?"

Phoebe smiled. "The kind that knows how to bring sanity into this family when we need it the most. You know," she nodded over at her squabbling sisters. "Like that. Probably the whitelighter in you. That's why you were drawn to social work."

"You think I'll ever get the hang of this?" Paige asked quietly.

"The magic stuff or the sisters stuff?"

"Both."

Phoebe wrapped an arm around her littlest sister's shoulders. "Absolutely. My Paige makes witch/whitelighter double duty look easy. And that's before the sisterly stuff. I wasn't kidding when I said our Paige kept this family together."

"But if my sisters are different from yours, wouldn't I be different?" asked Paige skeptically.

Phoebe looked her firmly in the eye. "She is. But I can already tell you're more sure of yourself than my Paige was six months after she found out about magic."

"Really?"

"Sure. I mean, of course, she was only 24 at the time. But you're still new to the craft, and learning the rules. It's how your Piper and Prue used magic that's changed them. In fact, I think it's about time you fulfill your destiny and get this family back on track."

"So, no pressure then," answered Paige sarcastically.

"Hey, I never said all at once. Just believe in yourself and don't let those two talk you out of what's in your heart and your gut. They'll learn. Just trust yourself. You've got terrific instincts."

"Aww, you're gonna make me blush," deflected Paige.

"Humor to keep people at arms length? Yep. You're just like my Paige. Try channeling the sarcasm into something productive – it's the quickest way to reach a Halliwell. So go ahead."

"Go ahead and what?"

"Break it up. Someone needs to be the sane one around here."

Paige shrugged uncertainly. "Uh, I guess if you say so..." She turned to the still arguing Piper and Prue.

Piper threw up her hands. "Yeah, right! After all, if anyone can make martyrdom attractive, it's _you_!"

Paige let loose an ear shattering whistle, which brought the two sisters heads whipping around. "Alright ladies – back to your corners!" Prue and Piper both crossed their arms at this, and Prue opened her mouth to say something before Paige through up a hand to cut her off. "Eh- eh- eh! Save it. Now, I may still be new to this whole magic thing, but I've got more experience with family drama that you two put together, so you're gonna listen." She leveled a stubborn glare at them. "Ready to listen? Okay then. You three need to understand that rehashing things you can't change helps a whole lot of nobody. Mistakes were made. Phoebe," she hiked a thumb at the sister still wrapped supportively around her shoulders. "_This _Phoebe has, I think, made that abundantly clear. The way to heal a wound isn't picking at it. You learn from it, and you _move on._"

Leo sighed. "Paige is right. And I think we should look at Phoebe's visit as an opportunity, a chance, to reexamine the choices we've made, and how things could have been different. Magic has brought us this opportunity and we shouldn't squander it."

"You..." Piper ran a hand through her long hair, looking exhausted. "You're right. I mean, we've got Phoebe back, right here, right now. She may not be _our_ Phoebe, but she's still our sister. The same one we grew up with. I mean, who knows how long it will be until the Elders let us see our Phoebe again?"

Phoebe felt Prue's gaze glide back toward her and it hovered there a moment before moving on to Paige. "You know... you sounded kind of like Grams just now." She gave her littlest sister a lopsided soft smile. "And if there's one thing I've learned, it's to listen to Grams."

"Unless it's about men," added Phoebe, which drew a laugh from Piper and Prue, dissolving the tension in the room. "Look, I didn't come here to throw in your face how much better my reality is. Or to say that we're infallible. My world has plenty of darkness in it. I mean, I don't have a Prue to go back to! We spent almost half a year magically disguised because faking our own deaths was the only to survive. At least, we thought so at the time. Leo nearly lost his mind to grief after Piper's second boy was born..."

"Why would I lose my mind over something that wonderful?" asked Leo.

"Because that was the same day that you lost him," answered Phoebe sadly.


	6. Where Are We Going?

**Author's Note:** I've tried to stick close with the Charmed comic's version of what happened with Cal Greene in the changed future.

**Chapter 6:** Where Are We Going?

"Uuuh, wait. Is anyone else lost, now?" asked Paige, to which she was answered by three nods in the affirmative.

"Oh – right. Um, it's a long story," began Phoebe.

"We've got time," replied Piper a bit anxiously. She may not have given birth to those boys, but Piper's mama grizzly instincts were the same in any reality.

"Ok, uh, long story short? Part of being twice-blessed means Wyatt is a target. Mostly for demons who want to eliminate him."

"But if I was invincible while pregnant with him, wouldn't that make him invincible too?" asked Piper.

"Almost. But not quite. He's powerful – scary powerful, actually. And that made some people on both sides nervous. Demons tried to turn him to their side, but ironically, it was an Elder who actually did it."

"I told you those assholes-" started Prue.

But Phoebe kept going. "Anyway, Wyatt's little brother, all grown up, came back from the future to save him. He was with us over a year, but we didn't find who had turned Wyatt into an amoral dictator until it was almost too late. We saved Wyatt, but Gideon killed Chris instead..."

Leo's face went pale. "No – no, it can't be!"

"Who's Gideon?" asked Piper.

"An Elder. And Leo's mentor," answered Phoebe. "If it weren't true, how would I know about Gideon?"

Leo didn't know what to say. "But... how. Why?"

"He was afraid that that much power in one person would be too much. That it would corrupt him. Wyatt _does_ grow up to be good now, by the way. But Leo nearly lost it after he killed Gideon. Tracking Barbas across the underworld for vengeance-"

"Barbas! So, I see he has a nasty habit of resurrecting himself in your reality too, eh?" said Piper.

"How could I have killed an Elder... I'm a pacifist. I don't have that kind of power," said Leo.

"You were an Elder at the time, as well."

"... Okay," was the best Leo could manage in response.

"An Elder? How in the hell are we not divorced if he's an Elder in your reality?" exclaimed Piper. "He was barely around as a whitelighter!"

"Oh, he's not. You see, once the Avatars helped him pull himself together-"

"You can't be serious!" interjected Prue. "Can't those bastards leave us alone in_ any_ reality?"

"Technically, I think they're outside reality. Or something. I was never clear on that..." said Phoebe. "So Leo joined the Avatars here, too?"

"What? No!" said Leo, clearly offended.

"Then how do you know about them?"

"Cole. Cole joined them," said Prue, bitterly. "Proving once again that falling for true love is for saps Nothing but bullshit and pain."

"Come again?" asked Phoebe.

"He joined the Avatars," said Piper. "We were happy at first. It seemed like the best way to get him away from the underworld, and not constantly being pulled between good and evil. But then we found out what they wanted to do..."

"Eliminate free will, right?" said Phoebe.

"Yeah. Cole claimed it was the only way to end the fighting – and get married to Phoebe. Remake the world so there is no evil or good. Sometimes I wonder if he wasn't on to something, after all."

"Don't say that!" exclaimed Phoebe. "Didn't you see what it was like?"

"No," said Prue incredulously. "We stopped them, once you, er, our Phoebe received a vision of where to find the ancient potion to take them down."

"Consider yourselves lucky, then. They never told Leo how their plan was supposed to work. They tricked us into helping them. It was a nightmare. Picture an entire planet of Stepford Wives and you'll be about halfway there."

Paige grimaced. "I can't even handle the _suburbs_."

"Well, when we refused to go along, Cole made Phoebe make a choice. Him or us," said Prue.

"Sounds familiar," said Phoebe, a hardness in her voice.

"It nearly ripper her heart in two, but things had been getting progressively more strained even before that. When she wouldn't support the Avatar's plan, he took it personally and really started to lose it – using the Avatar's powers to try to win her back. But putting that choice on you – her, was just the last straw. In the end... we had to vanquish him," said Prue.

"If we hadn't, I'm not so sure the Avatars wouldn't have," added Piper. "Looking back, I'm not so sure we shouldn't have let them do the job. Phoebe was never the same after that... plenty of one night stands, though..."

Prue shrugged. "Hey, I think some of her funniest columns came out of that mess."

"Oh, I was a columnist here, too?" asked Phoebe.

"Yeah. She was close to becoming a national celebrity before the Cal Greene incident," said Prue.

"Well, I'm glad at least the other me didn't give up on love, either."

Piper barked out a laugh at this. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm sorry?"

"No one who still believes in love could write _that_ kind of biting satire," said Prue. "I don't care what people said, that was the column for those of us out there that can see past the sappy crap, and don't mind laughing at people stupid enough to wear their hearts on their sleeves."

"Really?" Phoebe thought back to the geriatric version of herself and was struck again by just how lucky she was to have Coop, who guarded her heart so she didn't have to.

"Afraid so, honey," said Paige. "Though I can't say it was my cup of tea. The anti-Ann Landers schtick was a bit too much, mocking people who don't quite get that the column is a joke and write in for real help."

"So, I take it you're a writer too?" said Piper.

Phoebe nodded. "I write an advice column - a real one," she added for clarification. "And while I think Elise would love that kind of column, I'm pretty sure she'd be sad seeing it come from me."

"Elise? As in the Bay Mirror, Elise?" asked Paige.

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"Because that's who you were avenging. Cal Greene killed Elise, but got off thanks to a screw up by the cops who arrested him."

"A technicality..." said Phoebe softly, remembering her conversation about this with Leo, when she had traveled here the first time. "Right. It... didn't go down that way for me. He tried to kill her, but Paige healed her, before she could..." She swallowed hard on the lump in her throat. For all Elise's tough exterior, Phoebe counted her amongst her closest friends. More like an Aunt, even, than a friend or mentor. "I still got my revenge," she added quietly.

At the alarm on her alternate sister's faces shook her head. "Oh, I didn't kill him. We got there just in time to save Elise – and Piper froze Cal. Then it was a simple matter of glamoring and re-staging what he had done to Elise during a live WebCast I was scheduled to hold that night. Guess who Nathaniel Pratt went after then?"

Piper shrunk back, and shame laced her voice. "Maybe if we hadn't all drifted apart dealing with our own problems, we'd still have Phoebe... I mean, Paige was close to approaching us before the trials began. We could've all been here..."

"It's like Paige said. You can't keep dwelling on the could'ves and should'ves, Piper," said Phoebe. "But you _can_ start changing things today."

"Easier said than done, Pheebs. This whole family has been infected by the 'deal with it later' virus for a long time now. I mean, maybe I'd still have the club, or even my dream restaurant, if we'd have just..." Piper trailed off.

"If we'd have just worked on things," finished Leo. "Put the time in. If I'd been there, instead of that demonic babysitter that we almost lost Melinda to..."

"Maybe I'd have felt safer leaving her to be taken care of at night, and wouldn't have had to sell the club," said Piper, casting her eyes towards a wall, but not really seeing it.

"And not blamed me for your ending up back at the bank," finished Leo.

"Looks to me like you haven't totally lost your connection. Divorced or not, you're still finishing each other's sentences," said Coop, smiling in the attic doorway. He gestured behind himself. "Don't worry, your little girl is just taking a nap." He joined them, settling casually on the edge of a table. "You may not know me, but I know you two. The Leo and Piper in me and Phoebe's reality have had to fight tooth and nail to stay together, and they've broken each other's hearts more than once. But they'd be the first to tell you – it's been worth saving." Coop's ring gave off a soft pink glow. "Your love is just dormant, like a tulip bulb before Spring. Piper... you're too scared to let Leo back in. You still believe that when things get too good, something equally bad will come around to even things out, so you don't want to work on love, for fear you'll just be drawing pain to you. The version of you that I know learned to let that go. I have faith that you can." He turned to Leo. "And you... afraid to push past Piper's walls, so you figured that the less you were around, the less likely you were to screw things up, so you stayed away. But that backfired. You resented the fact that Piper didn't let you in, not seeing that your absence didn't make her heart grow fonder. It added bricks to the wall protecting her heart, and you can only build a wall so high before you can't see _anything_ over it. Including your dreams."

"As angry... and as _hurt_ as I've ever been, I never wanted to see your dreams die, Piper," Leo said softly. His eyes shone with unshed tears as he cleared his throat of the emotions constricting his voice. "That fire in you is what I loved. I never thought I would be the one to snuff it out."

The tip of Piper's nose was red as her face flushed with emotion. A mix of frustration, hope, hurt, and love boiled away in her heart, like one of their potions, as she struggled with how to reply. She was long past being able to brush their past aside. She'd never be able to forget. But she wanted desperately to be able to forgive. For Melinda's sake. And, she had to admit, her own. She knew he was right. The fight was largely gone from her. The last embers of that had been extinguished when Phoebe had been taken from her. "I know," she finally said, simply, as she felt the tiniest spark of hope in her heart for longer than she remembered. "Maybe..."

Prue, meanwhile, looked at the woman beside her, who looked so much like her own Phoebe, but was, in many ways, quite different. Not so hard, but still as strong. And it was this Phoebe who, when so many years younger, had given up her life, willingly, for a sin that she had yet to commit. That was when it clicked. She hadn't be able to speak with her Phoebe, or even send a letter, from the moment she was incarcerated. But she knew that her Phoebe had come to the same conclusion. It wasn't like she couldn't have escaped herself – it was as simple as thinking of a rhyming couplet. No, her Phoebe had chosen to stay as well. To bring an end to the madness, or at least, not make it worse. It was she and Piper who hadn't learned their lesson, as they still planned to break her out. "They did what we would have done," she said, finally.

"What?" asked Piper, yanked from her own contemplations by Prue's statement.

Prue met her younger sister's eyes. "They did what we would have. Phoebe was going to let herself die, for the greater good. And I think she could have talked us out of rescuing her. We've lost any trust in the universe to give us what we need; not what we want."

Phoebe nodded. "You know how hard headed I can be... there wouldn't have been any talking me out of it."

"And where has it gotten us, Piper?" said Prue. "Three women destined to die as spinsters – if Pratt doesn't get us first. And sure, I'll be a fabulously rich and powerful spinster, but... that's not what I pictured my life would be like as a little girl."

"What are you saying, Prue?" asked Piper.

"I think I'm... jealous of my dead self," Prue replied.

"What?" exclaimed the three other sisters in unison.

"It's not that I want to be dead, it's... it's like I'm seeing myself in a mirror for the first time in years."

"Ha!" exclaimed Piper. "Somehow, I doubt it's been long since you and a mirror have met."

"Very funny," deadpanned Prue. "But the point is... Phoebe, I'm glad I got the chance to meet you. And that my sisters, some version of them out there, are getting their happy endings."

"What kind of happy ending includes Prue being dead?" exclaimed Piper.

Paige shrugged. "She's got a point."

"Hm. Let's see," said Prue. "Piper and Leo are together, with no fertility problems, Paige is some kind of badass whitelighter-witch. Phoebe – you seem to have _somet_hing going on with tall, dark, and yummy over there, and she certainly hasn't given up on love. I got to follow my dreams and become a photographer, and if I'm interpreting Phoebe's hints correctly, I found love again. And what was the last thing? Oh. Right. _No witch trials_! Seems like a clear cut winner to me."

Phoebe shook her head. "I'm not sure winner is the right word."

"Nope, I think that sums it up best," replied Prue.

"Don't you dare say that!" cried Piper.

"What? It's true! Look, I'm sorry Piper but, if one of us had to die, I'd rather it was me! It was supposed to be _my _job to protect _you_.. and I failed."

"Are you kidding? You couldn't have saved Phoebe. Especially if she didn't want to be saved!" protested Piper.

Prue shook her head. "No, you don't get it. I failed in the every way I could. It was my failure that got Phoebe there. Because I got selfish and didn't have the time. And look what happened? I can only imagine what Grams would say. Let alone Mom..."

Phoebe raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You don't talk to Grams?"

"Not since my wedding," replied Piper. "Let me guess – another upside to Prue dying?"

Phoebe shook her head. "No – well, maybe. But I wouldn't put it that way. But after the lecture Grams gave me and Paige for moving out the first time... I'm surprised she hasn't telekinetically slapped all of us, or, you, all the way from the afterlife by now."

"How are Grams, and Mom? In your reality, I mean," asked Prue.

"They're good," replied Phoebe. She shrugged and smiled. "Well, as good as you can be, being dead and all. They watch more than you'd think, you know. Which means the other me up there is probably yelling and throwing popcorn at heavan's television by now."

"There's a tv?" asked Paige incredulously.

"No... well, I don't think so. I don't really know," said Phoebe. "But anyway, the point is, that Grams, after all that yelling, actually gave us her blessing. With the understanding that our bond as sisters was still there." She examined her sisters faces, as if she could glean some truth from their eyes. "If you think it's still possible to build a new bond... it's what we had to do when we lost Prue. And we learned that just one sister shouldn't be the protector. We all had to carry each other."

Prue nodded, as if making up her mind. "Like I said. I'm not saying it's perfect, but I'd give up everything to give my sisters, here, that chance. One where our family only has to worry about being killed by real demons. No witch trials."

"And no you," replied Piper, softly.

Prue frowned. "And just how much of me do you get now? Melinda was happier to see Phoebe, who's been out of her life for a year, and I'm pretty sure that's because she didn't even recognize me! I have this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that she did more real living in those last couple years than I have in the last eight."

"You know, it's not too late to fix it," said Phoebe.

"As long as you open your hearts," added Coop.


	7. Roadblocks and Detours

**Chapter 7: Roadblocks and Detours**

Coop held up the hand on which he wore his Cupid's ring. "May I?" he asked Prue.

Prue held her breath for a moment. She wasn't sure what he was asking, but Phoebe obviously trusted him, and she trusted Phoebe's judgment. "Sure. What the hell, why not?" Prue said finally.

Coop nodded and opened his outstretched hand, facing his palm at Prue, whose skin began to glow with golden lights that danced across her skin. Phoebe took his free hand in her own, her empathetic bond with him letting her finally feel what was in this embittered alternate version of her sister's heart, even through the empathy blocking potion.

Coop raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought _your_ block was big," he remarked, but was met with silence.

"Block?" asked Prue. "What the hell is a block?"

But Coop wasn't paying attention to the question, as his gentle teasing hadn't brought the usual rejoinder from his wife. A speechless Phoebe was _not _usually a happy Phoebe. He swiveled his head around to look at her, his ring still at work, and was surprised to see her holding back sorrowful tears.

"Pheebs?" asked Piper. "Is everything okay?"

Phoebe shook her head slowly. "I… you never got over it. I'm so, so, sorry, Prue," she said softly.

Prue gave her a sourly confused looked. "I'm… not really hung up on anything, Pheebs. Well, until a few minutes ago, and hearing about how things could've been different... But other than that, haven't been for a long time."

"That's exactly what she'd talking about," replied Coop.

"I'm not following," said Prue. "Really, I'm fine," she offered with a hollow laugh.

"Got over what, Phoebe?" asked Paige, who, still being new to magic and its various beings abilities, was utterly lost.

"Andy," said Piper gently. It wasn't a question.

Phoebe nodded as Prue turned her head, deflecting eye contact with her sisters. "You never moved on, after all this time? Surrounded by all those people but still so lonely…" she said sadly.

With this, Prue suddenly looked down at herself, and the glow dancing on her skin, and began brushing at her arms, as if wiping away dust. "What are you doing to me, anyway? What is this?" she asked, her voice rising inn defensive irritation.

"I'm not doing it," replied Coop. "That's all you – that's the energy you're putting out, blocking out love."

"Just – just turn it off, or whatever, dammit!" exclaimed Prue. Coop lowered his hand and the glow quickly faded. "That's better." Still, she fidgeted a bit, readjusting her dress and hair, clearly, to Phoebe's eye in any case, avoiding the subject at hand.

Phoebe laid a hand on her sister's forearm, gently stilling her motion. "Why didn't you talk to any of us?" It didn't matter at that moment that this wasn't her Prue, nor was she Prue's Phoebe.

Prue shrugged Phoebe's hand away and stepped back, crossing her arms. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Prue…?" began Piper, clearly uncomfortable confronting her sister.

It was obvious to Phoebe that the communication with these sisters had broken down somewhere along the way. She was surprised the triquetra on the book was still unbroken, or so she assumed, since they still had their powers. She looked to Paige, who obviously didn't feel it was her place to speak up – so much like her Paige in the early days. She sighed, but quickly had an idea. "Coop? Can you do that thing – you know, subtly suggest…"

Coop nodded. "Good idea." He raised his ringed hand again and suddenly all the sisters appeared, to his perception, to slow to the point of nearly being frozen. "All right..." He began to slowly circle around Prue, reading what he could off of her, but her block was incredibly strong. He thought back to what Phoebe had told him of her sister and what he'd heard in the last few minutes and nodded to himself. "When you lost Andy, you got scared, and that fear took so long to heal it left a scar across your heart. You're afraid to let anyone back in to your heart, for fear of losing them. But it's time to let that go. It's time to it all in again, because you know you're not really living without love, you're just surviving. And you need to start with your sisters. Let them be your gatekeepers."

He turned around to face Piper. "May as well, while I'm here." He stepped closer to the middle sister. "You hold your daughter in your heart, but there's room for so much more. You're afraid to confront Prue because you don't want her to put any more distance between you two, but you won't let Paige in, because you feel like you're betraying Phoebe. But the both need you. You have that strength in you, but you need to believe. And that includes believing in you and Leo – in your destiny. It's time to start talking, to everyone, and not putting it off for the perfect moment that will never come, because it's right now. It's always now, if you take it."

He focused on Leo, now, who was frozen with his arms crossed, his face betraying a mixture of hope battling with hostility that long ago become a reactionary habit. "And you… I know you still love them all, as their whitelighter, but its that thin line between love and hate that's made things so confusing for you, isn't it? Remember that love you have for your charges, and what blossomed from it for Piper, and the beautiful daughter that was created from that love. Take that, and plant a new seed. Tend it, nurture it, and you'll be surprised at what can blossom anew." Coop smirked to himself. "Besides, isn't the challenge part of what makes a Halliwell woman worth it?"

With that, he stepped back into the position he'd started from, knowing that any suggestions he'd made would instantly be moot if any of the sisters knew what he'd been up to. He lowered his hand and the action resumed at normal speed. He met Phoebe's gaze, gave her a knowing look, and squeezed her hand. She nodded in return, instantly understanding that he'd done as she suggested, and trusting that he knew where she was going with Prue.

Phoebe tried laying her hand on Prue's shoulder again, and while Prue tensed, she didn't turn away this time. "Look, Prue. I know this isn't my reality, but you're still my sister. I just want to help."

Prue continued to stare out the stained glass attic window. "I suppose your Prue just got over An… everything, just like that," she punctuated this with a snap of her fingers. "But I'm not her. Hell, I nearly gave it all up when that demon stole the book."

"Of course she didn't. Mine did the same thing. And… you know you don't always have to be the strongest one, right?" offered Phoebe, thinking back to the incident, and how Prue had broken down under the pressure of having to save everyone when they thought she'd been the 'Power of One' in the book. That was the first time Phoebe had realized the weight of responsibility that Prue had taken upon her shoulders.

"Yeah, I know. " Prue glanced at Phoebe for just a moment. "I got over that. Couldn't have survived all the demons that came after that if I hadn't…"

"But that's why you threw yourself into your work. Just like right after Andy died."

"I worked because I had to," replied Prue. "Who the hell else was going to pay the bills?"

"We would have found a way," offered Piper.

Prue barked a bitter laugh. "Right."

"_Yes_, right," replied Piper. "You can't use that excuse for all the years since I had Melinda. You haven't even been paying any bills for the Manor since I went back to the bank – _six_ years ago. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen you outside a vanquish since you moved out."

"Yeah? Well, I…" Prue huffed in annoyance, realizing that she didn't really have an excuse. Not one she really believed, anyway. "It was too hard."

"Maybe it was too hard for me. You ever think of that?" replied Piper.

"You had Leo and Melinda. Phoebe had… well, hell, half the guys on the West Coast after Cole!"

"I did _not_!" exclaimed Phoebe, forgetting for a moment that Prue wasn't talking about her.

"Well, I'm glad to hear _you _didn't," remarked Piper with a smirk.

"Oh. Right. Sorry," replied Phoebe sheepishly. "For what it's worth, it sounds like your Phoebe was running from her own issues and fears."

"Great. Another reason to feel guilty," replied Prue.

"You're missing the point, Prue," said Phoebe.

"And that would be…?" asked Prue sarcastically.

"We should have stuck together," replied Piper, her voice soft as she made this realization out loud. Phoebe nodded in agreement. "I could have used your support through my divorce, Prue. As a single Mom…"

"You never said anything," replied Prue with venom. "Besides, what would you need me around for when you had Phoebe? You and her were thick as thieves… like we used to be." She was blinking back tears and continued to keep her gaze locked on the window.

Piper's expression was a dark mixture of frustration and sympathy. "You wouldn't let me in, Prue. If it wasn't a demonic threat, you didn't have the time… where else was I supposed to go?"

Prue swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, but didn't say anything. She didn't trust herself to keep it together as years of suppressed hurt, fear, and guilt broke like waves against a levee.

As Phoebe watched this version of her sister she couldn't help but wonder what could have been for her own, the one who had learned to move on and embrace life. The one who'd come to an understanding with death, literally, and truly understood the wiccan truism that everything happens for a reason. The one who had learned to let her sisters carry some of the load.

"She's afraid," Paige said, breaking the silence. This simple statement was what finally pulled Prue's eyes away from the window, as she looked at the youngest sister she still didn't really know, but apparently knew her. "It's what I went through after my parents died. It kept me from getting serious with anyone, or keeping any close friends – until Henry. And I've seen it a thousand times in the families I work with. You feel like it's your fault, like you're cursed, and the only way you can keep your loved ones safe is to stay away."

"Is that true?" Piper asked Prue gently. Prue's chin quivered in response. "Oh, sweetheart…." said Piper. Her heart ached, the years of resentment of Prue's behavior momentarily forgotten, and pulled her sister into a hug.

Prue's arms remained at her side, pinned under Piper's, but she rested her head on her sister's shoulder. "How couldn't I be?" she said, finally, her eyes rimmed red with emotion. "I was there with Mom when demons took her. I couldn't stop them from killing Andy… even that damned cat was killed by _them._"

"Honey, I thought you said you knew – that it wasn't your fault. No witch is strong enough to stop it all," said Phoebe. "There was nothing you could do to save Mom, Prue. You were five – your powers bound. And Andy made his own choice."

Piper rubbed her sister's back, willing her to start healing, while also understanding that her sister hated to cry in front of anyone – even family – and being held in this embrace gave her a shield, of sorts.

Prue's lips were pressed into a tight, thin-lipped frown, her chin trembling again, and she was thankful no one could see her face at that moment. "I know that, Piper. But I still lost them. Mom… Grams… Andy… I couldn't bear losing anyone else. It hurt too much, Piper. Andy was bad enough… but to lose my sisters? I couldn't handle that."

"So you pushed them away, and buried yourself in work. So it wouldn't hurt so bad to lose them," said Paige gently. "You can't miss something that's not in your life."

Prue gave an almost completely imperceptible nod.

"But it didn't work, did it?" replied Phoebe.

" It worked most of the time. I didn't have time to feel lonely," replied Phoebe.

"And didn't that work out well," remarked Phoebe sarcastically. "I don't mean to be cruel, Prue, but look at what that strategy has reaped."

"Don't you think I know that, Phoebe?" replied Prue, but usual fire wasn't there. "You have no idea…" She sucked in a gasp of a breath and stepped back, out of Piper's embrace, in order to look at Phoebe. "Oh God, I'm so lonely. And it's all my fault! I've been so selfish – it's all my fault, and it happened again, anyway. When we lost you, Phoebe, that's when I knew it. I'd failed…. in every possible way. I let my sister burn, and when you were gone, it hurt even more. I closed you out and the moment you were gone, all I could think about was the fact that I'd squandered our time – and I could never get it back." A single tear rolled down Prue's cheek, and danced on her chin for just a moment before falling to the ground. "I know exactly what it reaped… "

"This family, your sisters and niece, need you, Prue. But we don't need to be saved," said Piper. "We're not your baby sisters anymore. We're just plain sisters. We don't need to be taken care of anymore. "

"Family need each other," said Phoebe. "Family is supposed to be there for each other, supporting your, or vice versa, when you need it. They need you, because they love you, and want you to be happy. And that means letting them share the load."

"A broken bone never heals right without a cast," added Coop. "The same goes for a broken heart. There's a reason they say it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

"Loss is a part of life," said Leo. "Things in our life only hold value because one day, they'll be gone."

"And the only way to truly mend your heart is to let others fill it," said Phoebe. "Not board it up and abandon it."

"Maybe," replied Prue quietly. "But I don't think I can change now. Not after all this time."

"You know," said Paige. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result."

"Exactly," replied Phoebe. "Paige was my family's second chance. Let her be yours too." Phoebe gave her younger sister's arm a gentle squeeze.

Paige looked at her sister. "Gee, no pressure there, sis," she said as her mouth twisted itself into a lopsided, sardonic smirk.

Immediately, the distinct sound of magic tinkled in the air, interrupting any possible banter, only to bring new voices. The sisters, Coop, and Leo all turned around to the source of the sound, which turned out to be something none of them could have predicted.

"See? Potion goes poof, and here we are, safe and sound…." said one woman to her companion.

"You mean in the exact place that we started?" replied the other. "I told you that yarrow root couldn't be substituted. On the bright side, if you ever have a ninja as a charge, you'll already have some nifty smoke bombs in case he needs to make a mysterious getaway!"

"Yeah… about that," the first said, nodding to the space behind her companion. "I don't think were in Kansas anymore, Dorothy."

When the second turned around, her eyebrow quirked halfway up her forehead, but she didn't miss a beat. "Ok, so which of you is the Cowardly Lion?"

Phoebe laughed. "I think we've got a room full of Tin Men here, actually."

"Piper?" said Prue incredulously. "Paige?"

The newly arrived Piper's mouth dropped open and she blinked a few times. "Prue…?"


	8. Mother, Daughter, Sister, Mentor?

**Chapter 8:** Mother, Daughter, Sister, Mentor?

"Phoebe…." began the newly arrived Paige. "_What_ did you do?" She looked at the others present, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of the sister she thought she'd never meet, but quickly refocused. "You are _our_ Phoebe, right?"

Phoebe crossed her arms. "I haven't done anything nearly as dangerous as you nearly turning Grams into an eternal flower child, if that's what you're asking."

"Ah!" exclaimed Paige, slapping her hands together. "Good - you _are_ our Phoebe! I was – er, _Piper _was worried we'd have a little magical malfunction." She shot Piper a self-satisfied smirk and an elbow to the ribs. "Really, Piper - you've gotta trust your instincts and improvise a little more often."

The other Paige's eyebrows shot up at this magic-confident version of herself, in addition to a laugh that she hid behind her hand.

"It's not _my_ instincts I was questioning, missy," Piper replied absently, clearly distracted by the frozen tableau of alternate sisters before her. "Phoebe… where are we? Is that really…?"

"Prue?" replied Phoebe, nodding. "Well, not our Prue, of course."

"The witch trials," said Piper as she took in Prue and her double's appearance.

Prue nodded. "I take it you remember your little trip here?"

"I, uh… " Her hand flew to her mouth as she realized that her middle sister had no double present. "Oh God… Phoebe's gone, isn't she?"

Her_ almost_ identical twin nodded sadly. "Six months ago."

"Oh, God… I never imagined…" Piper trailed off.

"That we went on existing?" replied the other Piper. "Afraid so."

"So, you know everything that happened, then?" asked the visiting Piper.

"Phoebe – your Phoebe – explained everything," replied Prue. The newly arrived Piper and Page simply stood, staring at Prue, mouths slightly agape. "I… it's okay, we don't blame you for what happened while you were here. It's what had to happen."

Piper blinked and shook her head a moment. "I'm sorry, I just… oo - okay…"

Prue took a step towards this alternate version of her sister as she realized this Piper had also lost a sister. And not just any sister. Her. "Oh, Piper," she began, not quite sure what to say. She'd barely maintained a relationship with her Piper – let alone this one. Finally, she simply landed on hug and took Piper in her arms. "I'm sorry, I forgot. Phoebe explained about me, or the other me, that is."

Piper wondered for a moment if she was asleep. She'd reunited with her sister in her dreams more times than she could remember. But the warmth of her big sister's body, the firm, sure embrace, was more real than anything she'd dreamed. She clung to Prue, as if to never let her go, and tried to take in every detail, attempting to burn a new memory over the last time that she's held her sister – when her skin had been so cold, her body stiffening in Piper's arms as she'd spent and eternity trying to will the life back into her big sister. She buried her chin in the crook where Prue's shoulder met her neck - and the illusion was shattered as quickly as it had been born. Her scent was wrong.

Vivid memories of being wrapped in her mother's arms, for the first time in two decades, when they'd gone back to the Seventies, flashed through her mind. She remembered how her mother's long forgotten, distinct aroma - a mixture of lavender and sandalwood, when she didn't smell of Buddy's Diner - had brought faded memories flooding back. Her heart sank as she suddenly realized that she'd forgotten Prue's scent as well – but whatever it had been, it only bore a passing resemblance to this Prue's perfume. This was her sister… but it wasn't. Even her own Prue, the one she'd travelled to this future with, had barely recognized this Prue. The whole idea left her confused as her heart and her head struggled to reach an agreement on what she should be feeling.

When Prue stepped back, letting her sister go, she was surprised to see Piper studying her face. "You've been crying," Piper stated. "Did we interrupt something?"

Prue gave her a small, self-conscious smile. "Oh, no… it was nothing," she insisted in a tight voice. She cleared her throat. "Really."

Piper narrowed her eyes slyly. "I see you're just as bad a liar as always." She couldn't help but be happy that this Prue was still recognizable in other ways.

"Wait – so these are your sisters from your reality?" asked the inexperienced Paige, holding a hand to her temple. "This is just bizarre."

The more experienced Paige nodded in amusement. "You'll get used to it. Well… as used to it as anyone can, I guess. Nice to meet you by the way," she said to her other self, who just stared, dumbfounded. "Wait a minute – Phoebe, where are we? This can't be the past – Prue's here… but I'm here… unless you've _really _been screwing with the timeline."

Phoebe shook her head. "No. Do you remember me telling you about how we learned – the hard way - to never use our powers for revenge? This would be where, or when, rather, we learned that."

"Oh, fer…" cried Paige, looking toward the ceiling. "I thought I told you guys – **no **_more _alternate realties!" She turned back to her sisters and shook her head. "I know they're the good guys and all, but I swear - never trust an Elder farther than you can orb him!"

"How _is_ Paige here? How did you find her without Prue… well, losing her?" asked Piper. "Or did we...? By letting Phoebe…?" She left the thought unfinished.

"We found her after the witch hunts started. Just about a year ago," replied Prue's Piper. "Lucky, too. If she'd accidentally orbed in public, who knows what would have happened."

"Paige kabobs," replied both Paiges in unison. They exchanged looks at this, the new witch looking awkward, the other simply smirking at yet another absurd situation magic has put her in.

"Anyway," interjected Phoebe. "We were all just having a little heart to heart, right before you arrived."

"And butting her nose into everyone's business," added Leo. "In a good way," he added with a gentle smile.

"_Phoe_be!" Her Piper gave Phoebe's shoulder a backhanded slap.

"What!" exclaimed Phoebe, rubbing her upper arm in feigned pain. "It's not like time travel! I remembered what you and Prue told me about this possible future, and figured it couldn't hurt to try and put things back on track for them as long as I'm here!"

"'Ask Phoebe' strikes again," teased Paige.

"Well…" said her Piper as she noticed the body language between her alternate self and Leo. Despite standing plenty far apart, they still unconsciously turned their backs to each other, obviously trying to pretend the other didn't exist. "It might not be the worst idea she's had." Despite their arrival, the air was palpably thick – there wasn't just an elephant in the room – the whole circus was in town.

"So, uh, from what Phoebe has said, I gather we've never met in your reality?" Prue asked Paige, clearly trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"No… but I've always wanted to," replied Paige. "Even if you were more than a little intimidating to live up to."

Prue gave her a sidelong look. "Hardly!"

"How could the sister who was Grams - with better hair, and taste in men – _not _be a bit intimidating to follow?" said Paige with a shrug.

"Grams with better hair, huh?" replied Prue. "I don't know whether to be flattered, or insulted. But then, you didn't mention my having a much better fashion sense, so I'm leaning toward insult."

Paige laughed at this. "Are you kidding me? That goes without saying. Grams was a lot of things, but a fashionista wasn't one of them. At least Mom always had the excuse that she'd died in the Seventies – the decade where all fashion went to die."

"Well, in that case," began Prue, but finished the thought by simply embracing her youngest sister.. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you – in your reality. I'm sure ghost-me feels the same way."

Paige returned the gesture and came away with a grin so wide it almost hurt . "It means more than you know to hear you say that," said Paige.

"I mean it," replied Prue. "Phoebe told us that you saved her family. You did better than I have..."

Paige knit her brow. "I don' t know what Phoebe told you, but it was never just me. Hell, I've lost count of how many times they pulled my feet up out of the fire in that first year alone…"

Phoebe's Piper nodded. "Paige is right. Her first talent was always finding a way to get herself into trouble."

"Hey!" replied Paige in faux outrage as she gave her big sister a swat. "Need I remind you who saved you from a life as La Femme Nikita?"

"I think I have the cold waters of San Francisco Bay to thank for that. Technically speaking," replied Piper with wink in her eye.

"Okay, how's about Wyatt and the demonic market… the shrink ray guy… mermaid Phoebe…" She counted off each incident on her fingers.

"Hm. Funny. I seem to recall all those stemming from you traipsing off on your headstrong lonesome, and getting into trouble," replied Piper.

"You say headstrong,_ I_ say infallible instincts," replied Paige, crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air. "Potato, poh-tah-to."

Piper gave her other self a faux-solemn look. "You just keep your eyes open while you're teaching her." She nodded at the Paige from this reality. "She just might teach you a few things along the way, too," finished Piper, her voice suddenly more warm than wry in tone.

Her Paige fanned her face with her hand. "Aww, don't go making me blush, sis."

"When she's not letting it go to her head, of course," finished Piper. She glanced at the other Paige's red hair. "I see you're studying potions."

The red-headed Paige grimaced and looked at her other self, who had apparently been through a lot. "You did this too?" she asked, pointing at her hair.

Paige nodded with a laugh. "I can give you the potion formula to reverse it, if you'd like. Took me, like, a year to figure it out."

The other shrugged. "I'm digging it for now – better than anything a salon could do. But that would probably be handy to have around anyway."

"You guys good for figuring all this out without me?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure I know what's up. Thanks for coming to look for me, anyway, though."

"Hey, that's what family is for, right?" replied Paige before gesturing for her alter-self to follow her over to the book's pedestal.

Prue had stayed back, watching the easy back and forth between these doubles of her sisters. It was strange, kind of like when they'd travelled to the past and seen their younger selves; nostalgic and familiar. But she'd never lived this. Not exactly. It was like what she remembered once having with her sisters; a time that seemed like a lifetime ago. And she felt jealous – she wanted that for herself. The question she now found herself faced with was whether her sisters felt the same way. If if they did, was she strong enough to let them in?

The Piper of Phoebe's reality, meanwhile, was experiencing her own nostalgia. While Phoebe hadn't seen anything of this reality outside a jail cell the first time around, she had. Her eyes drifted to the back end of the attic and she remembered Prue accidentally blowing it to pieces. A quiet smile crept across her face – until she was suddenly brought back to reality by the sound of her own voice.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about when Prue and I were up here." Her eyes glanced back at the wall. "Sorry about the attic, by the way. It was an accident. And we didn't know the spell for making 'scenes unseen' at the time."

The other Piper laughed. "Yeah – now that one was a mystery for us. We didn't remember being… possessed, or whatever, by you two. Or three, I guess." She glanced back at Phoebe.

"I have to say, we've had our close calls with exposure, and there weren't even witch trials going on. How did you manage to not get reported? I'd think the fire department or ATF, at least, with an explosion that big!"

"Let's just say I went through a lot of memory dust that day," replied Leo.

Piper turned back to her other self, the one who hadn't managed to make things work with Leo, finally getting the courage up to get closure for that small part of herself that wondered about what could have been. "Can I ask you something?"

"Well, you're me, sort of, so I don't see why not."

"Did you go through with it?" she asked, looking between Leo and her other self.

"Go through with what?"

"Binding Melinda's powers," replied Leo, knowing that was the only thing she could be talking about.

"Oh…" said his Piper, still not looking at him. "Um, no. I couldn't… I know seeing what happened to Phoebe should have left no doubt in my mind, but then I thought about what we went through… learning magic on our own… God forbid something should happen to Leo and me both. I couldn't stand the thought of Melinda having to learn it all on her own. She wouldn't even have sisters to guide her."

"She'd have Aunts, though, right?" replied the other Piper.

"That's… not something I could count on," she answered, eyes downcast.

The other Piper nodded. "I'm glad…" There was a pregnant pause before Piper continued. "She isn't around by any chance, is she?"

The Piper of this realm looked up. "She is. She's down for her nap, but you can see her if you like."

"I'd love to. If you wouldn't mind showing me the way…?"

Melinda's Piper thought the request odd, given that she could have easily simply told her what room was Melinda's, but she decided to go along with it. What her double had in mind, she had no idea, but she figured if she was going to play along with anyone, it may as well be herself. "Walk this way, then."

The visiting Piper followed on her other self's heels, downstairs. She truly wanted to see the daughter she she'd long assumed she'd never have, but that wasn't the whole reason she'd asked. She could tell that her double was on to her, but as long as it gave her the opportunity to knock a little sense into herself, she couldn't care less. She had believed, those many magically naïve years ago, that by changing her present, this future had ceased to exist. Aside from the occasional wistful thoughts about her daughter that never was, she'd not given much thought to this reality at all. But here it was, rolling on. Her little girl, living in fear simply for the sin of being born magical, her parents in a hostile divorce, one dead Aunt, one absent Aunt, and who knew what the deal was with this Paige. She sighed inwardly. She didn't if it was her place – she had to at least _try _to fix what she could.

Her other self stopped at Paige's old room – the same room Chris and Wyatt shared in her reality – and gently placed her hand on the doorknob. Melinda's Piper motioned silently for the other to step inside, and followed behind her. The daughterless Piper's breath caught in her throat at the familiar little face that rested peacefully atop a Tinkerbelle comforter, one arm wrapped around a brown plushie bear. "Wubby," whispered Piper with a smile.

"Wubby?" Melinda's mother whispered back.

"The bear. Wyatt – my son – he has that same bear. Phoebe bought it-"

"- as a baby shower gift," finished the other. The other nodded, reflecting on how strange it was that these disparate realities could still synch up in the oddest ways. "Mel calls him Ruxby." She caught the curious look in her other self's eyes. "You know, after those Teddy Ruxpin toys? Phoebe used to play a game with Melinda. She'd make him talk, with magic of course. Melinda couldn't pronounce Ruxbin at the time, so it stuck," she finished with a melancholic smile. Reminiscing had the regrettable side-effect of reminding her that her actual sister wasn't coming back. Not any time soon, anyway.

"Personal gain, just for a game?" asked the other Piper in concern. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"It's just a little thing," answered the other with a shrug. "A game!"

Piper's brow furrowed. She'd gathered that these versions of herself and her sisters had strayed from the path – the spell to create money, permanently committed to the Book of Shadows, had made it clear enough. But she'd assumed that it mostly had to do with rescuing Phoebe. How wrong she had been. "Look," she whispered, glancing down at the still slumbering Melinda. "Can we talk out in the hall?"

She saw her own face give her an irritated look. "Fine."

When they were back in the hall, Melinda's mom closed the door quietly, and turned around, only to be met with the kind of look she gave her daughter when she refused to eat her vegetables. "What?" she said defensively.

"Look…" The other Piper sighed, running a hand through her hair as she gathered her thoughts. She'd been on the receiving end of a scolding from her other self before, and knew how difficult she could be, and there were some pretty fundamental differences between herself and this Piper. She didn't want this to go off the rails. "Yeah, sure, a fun little spell isn't a big deal. It's just one little step off the straight and narrow Wiccan path, right? But five, ten, twenty years of it, and you're going to find yourself pretty far off that path."

The Piper native to this reality crossed her arms. "I don't need a lecture from you – I've been doing this just as long as you have! And, no offense, but she's my daughter. Not yours."

"Technically, yes, but-"

"But _nothing_. I'll raise her as I judge fit."

The visiting Piper raised an eyebrow skeptically. "That the same_ stellar_ judgment that led to your divorce? To witch trials? To Phoebe's death?" She knew it could be taken as a low blow, but she didn't have all day, and sometimes you have to go straight for the jugular.

The other Piper clenched her jaw. "Phoebe killed that man by herself."

Piper shook her head. "No. Not really. That's on you and Prue's heads as well," she jabbed her index and middle finger in the air to emphasize her point.

The native Piper, arms crossed, pulled her head back, but stood her ground. "What would you know about it?"

"I know that your Prue is more devoted to her job than this family, for one. I know that Phoebe acted alone –which tells me she didn't even think to come to her sisters when it came to dealing with Cal Greene. She just took the role of judge, jury, and executioner into her hands. Alone."

"And that's supposed to be _my_ fault?"

"No," she shook her head. "Well – not _just _yours. This family needs each other. We're not normal; we'll never be normal. So we can't indulge ourselves in being estranged like a normal family, either. You know what I learned when I had to fill Prue's shoes as the oldest sister?"

"How to boss your sisters around with endless rhetorical questions?"

"Funny," Piper said, not entirely disingenuously. "But no. Not_ just_ that. I learned that we all need to be the big sister, sometimes, and step up and support each other when the going gets tough. And more importantly, to call each other when we're wrong. But at least one of us needs to be the sane one at any given time." At her other self's non-response of a raised eyebrow, she threw up her hands. "Look – if you don't want change for _yourself_? Fine. But it's not about you. It's about them!" She flung her arm at Melinda's bedroom door is such a way that had she been Prue, they'd probably be paying yet another repair man. "It's about your children and your sister's future children! You guys need to do…. Do _some_thing. You should want to change – for Melinda's sake, at the very least!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piper asked in a low voice.

"I've seen how the littlest choices can change everything with my own children. More than once. You don't want to see what can happen." Her expression darkened. "Who can die because of it. And unlike my family, if there's some terrible future awaiting you, Melinda won't have any siblings or cousins to help her, or save her. I was lucky enough to have a boy to come back and warn us. But what if Melinda loses the rest of her family, and she's not powerful enough, or doesn't know how, to come back to warn you? Or, God forbid, she dies?" Piper paused, realizing she was starting to get a little worked up.

"That happened to you?" asked the other Piper in disbelief.

Piper nodded. "We've put in the work, my sisters and I. It's hard. And I know it's hard for you right now – you've only just lost Phoebe. Just be thankful you still have Prue."

The native Piper wasn't sure what to say to this, so in true Halliwell fashion, she deflected the worst of it with a little gentle levity. "I don't think I've ever been steamrolled like that. Not even by Prue," she added the last with the smallest of smiles.

The other Piper's face became a sardonic mirror of hers at this. "Is that a good thing?"

She shrugged. "I think so…." She paused. "You had to learn that because you lost Prue, didn't you?"

Piper nodded sadly. "I suppose so." She sighed. "I… know I don't really have the right to barge in here and tell you that you're doing everything wrong-"

"-but you are, anyway," supplied the other Piper not-so-helpfully.

"Yeah. But I can't help feeling like this is my family too. And dammit, no one messes with my family. Not even…" she rolled her eyes at herself. "… my family. If that makes sense."

Piper shrugged. "Well, I guess the bright side of being sisters is that we can tell each other off and know we can always fix it."

"As long as you're both willing."

She sighed. "I guess we forgot about that. At least, I did. I mean, I was so scared of losing Prue – her just up and moving to London or Hong Kong or something..."

The visiting Piper smirked. "Phoebe did that once."

"What? How? WHY?"

"She was dating her boss-"

"-Jason Dean? The media mogul? She… saw him, if you know what I mean, on and off here, too."

"Yeah, well… it was much more serious in my reality. So, she moved to Hong Kong for quite a few months."

Piper shook her head. "But how does that work? You keep saying we need to stick together, but Phoebe just up and left her Charmed duties?"

"You're forgetting. We had Paige by that point. Not to mention Leo – sort of. And my half whitelighter adult son from the future. So, just an orb away was quite doable. Hell, she could get here quicker from China than if she'd moved across town, but without access to orbing."

"Good point." Something else the visiting Piper had said suddenly struck her. "Wait a minute – what do you mean Leo was 'sort of' there?"

Piper bit her lip. "Caught that did ya? Yeah, well, like I said. We've worked hard to stick together. And Leo and I did get divorced for a while…" She held up her hand as she saw her other self open her mouth to ask another question. "Not legally, just… spiritually, or celestially, or whatever. Explaining the whole thing would take all day, but suffice it to say that the Elders suffered a major blow, they couldn't spare him down here. So, for a while, I was a single mother. Just like you. So don't think I'm just talking out my ass when I say what I've been saying."

"How did you get back together? Phoebe mentioned something about your son dying, and Leo losing his marbles…?"

Piper sighed, but almost laughed at the same time. "That…. Was a mess. Eventually, the Elders came up with some bullshit 'test'," she added broad sarcastic quoting fingers to this term, "and dropped hi m in the middle of Texas, with amnesia, and expected him to find his way to his true calling. Either me or the Elders."

Piper's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, my God!"

The other nodded. "Right. At the same time, I was in a coma, my spirit lost on some other plane, yadda yadda yadda, but it all worked out in the end."

"But how?"

"It worked out because my sisters were there, from second one, doing everything in their power to find him. If they hadn't caught one Elder rigging the game… I don't know what would've happened. But I know I wouldn't be standing here right now. I never made him clip his wings – that was the Elder's doings. And his choice."

Piper was rubbing thumb to her bottom lip absently as she digested all this information. "Has it all been worth it?" she asked, finally.

"Of course," replied the married Piper without hesitation. "And I'd do it all again. The very idea exhausts me, but I would. The question you have to ask yourself, is, is her still in there," she pointed at her other self's heart. "for you? As much as I tried when we were separated, I couldn't let another guy in. His place was already taken." She leveled a serious gaze at her other self. "So? Is he there?"

Piper bit her lower lip, and her eyes became watery as she let herself admit a truth she'd hidden even from herself. She knew why she'd never really put her heart into the dating scene. She'd said she didn't have the time, or that it wasn't fair to Melinda, but deep down she knew she was lying. She opened her mouth, finally, to speak.

"Yes," said a voice that should have been hers, but had come from the end of the hall. But it was Leo's. "She's in mine, at least." He stepped up beside the visiting Piper and gave her a self-conscious shrug. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop – not at first anyway. But I heard some of what you said… about what your Leo went through. And I realized I'd still do that now. For her." He turned to look at his Piper, whose mouth just slightly left open, unsure what to say, a befuddled expression on her face. "It's okay if you don't feel the same way," he said quietly. "I just don't want to fight anymore. I want to fight for you…."

"Not against each other," Piper finally said, finding her voice. She took his hands in hers."I feel the same way. But… I don't know how we come back from this," she added sadly. "From everything that's been said." The pair blinked back tears of equal parts hope and pain.

"Well, _that_ I can't help you with. But I have a feeling that Coop has already opened avenue for you," remarked the visiting Piper. At the couple's blank looks she rolled her eyes. "You _do _know he's a Cupid, right? For all that me and my Leo have been through, we're both too stubborn to admit what you two did that quickly, and on our own. I'm pretty sure he hit you up with his book of love is one way or another." She smirked. "Look. I'm gonna step aside, but first you have to promise me one thing, Leo."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Do _not_ go to that damned soothsaying gardener!"

Leo looked incredibly confused but nodded nonetheless. "Oookay. I promise."

"Good. Cause how many times a _day_ do we do it? Do I look like a rabbit?" She shook her head and turned to this reality's Piper. "Anyway. May I say goodbye?" she asked, nodding her head at Melinda's door.

"Of course," replied the other Piper. "We'll be in the conservatory, if anyone needs us."

Piper nodded as the couple walked off, and she made her way back into Melinda's room. Her heart could rest a little easier knowing that this little girl, her little girl in so many ways, had a better chance at a brighter future than she'd had when she went down for her nap. She watched her for a couple minutes, studying her features, and committing them to memory. _'She looks so much like Prue did at that age. But with just a dash of herself and her father in the face._ Reluctantly, she admitted to herself that it was best if she got back to everyone.

Piper leaned down, as she had one last thing to do before leaving, and brushed the girl's mousey brown locks from her forehead, tucking them behind her ear. She ran a finger down the little girl's hands, realizing they were a childish version of Leo's and smiled. "Goodnight, muffin," she whispered, and punctuated it with a kiss to her daughter's forehead and made herself stand up and turn for the door.

"Goodnight, Mommy," she heard a pixie-ish voice reply sleepily. "Love you…"

"Mommy loves you too, sweetheart," she replied back. Quietly as possible, she slipped back out the door. She stood there for a moment before wiping a tear from the corner of her eye with her thumb. She fixed her hair in a fidgety manner, and cleared her throat of emotion. There was still plenty of business to attend to.

This time, at least, she'd gotten to say a proper goodbye.

**Author's Note: **Everyone will be getting their own bit of time, and it ain't all gonna be hugs and sunshine. So that's what you can expect for the next couple of chapters. I never meant for this to go so long, but the characters must have their own way, sometimes. I'm simply following where they lead me.


	9. A Paige From Her Book

**Author's Notes:** Sorry about the update delay, but real life has to take precedence. Nevermind that I was a bit stumped on where I was going with Paige in this chapter. Hopefully that didn't effect the flow of the chapter as you read. Thanks again to everyone for the reviews!

In answer to **Miss Anonymous hp** : In my view, Melinda's Piper has never seen the boys, so they're not truly "real" to her. Kind of like when a relative dies before you're old enough to remember them. Top that with the fact that she's dealing with seeing an alive Phoebe and her double, and I just can't see her dwelling on the kids-that-weren't at that moment. It will be addressed in a way before the story ends, but don't expect anything terribly dramatic. In regards to my "Once and Future Witches" story, no, you're not going crazy. I dropped it for years and finally finished near the end of 2011.

Consider that reassurance for anyone out there waiting on updates as I'll never not finish a story, even if some take longer than others.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9:<strong> **A Paige From Her Book**

Shortly after the Pipers had left the attic, Phoebe and Prue had settled on Aunt Pearl's couch to talk, while Coop and Leo did the same, out of earshot of any of the sisters. The Paiges, meanwhile, had pulled the Book of Shadows out of its hiding place under the floorboards and the inexperienced Paige found herself under the tutelage of her alternate self. She watched, fascinated by how quickly she flipped through the pages; multiple fingers acting as placeholders for pertinent sections while her other hand found the entries she sought with just one or two flips. The only times she didn't immediately land on what she was looking for was, according to her, because this book had some spells hers didn't, or was missing certain entries that had been added in her reality.

"So, you see how billings root – that's ginger by the way – activates the purification and exorcism properties of the sagebrush, thus removing the magical effects that gave you that lovely dye job!" She said with a finality, as if it was the most logical thing in the world, which as far as the red-headed Paige knew, it could be. That didn't mean she wasn't going to question things.

"Wait a minute. Exorcism? As in head spinning, pea soup spitting exorcism? What does that have to do with restoring my natural hair color?"

"Exorcism doesn't just have to be demons or ghosts," replied the magic savvy brunette, and she flipped to a page near the beginning of the book. She tapped her index finger on an entry titled, obviously enough, _Exorcism_. "It's about removing something that shouldn't be there from its host. Now, of course, you have to be careful what reagents you pair with an herb that has exorcism properties, or else you can end up with some pretty kooky side effects."

"Such as?"

The raven-haired Paige rubbed the back of her neck in a fidgety manner. "Like, switching bodies kind of a mishap."

"You did that, didn't you?" said the inexperienced Paige, recognizing embarrassment when she saw it. Her other self nodded. "Oh, my God! Who?"

"Well… let's just say I'm far more familiar with Phoebe's undergarments than I ever wanted to be." She shook her head. "You're lucky, in a way. Coming to the craft later, I mean."

"How is that lucky?"

"I made a lot of stupid mistakes in the beginning – I was impatient, impulsive… you know, a typical 24 year old. I like to think I could have avoided a lot of those mishaps if I'd taken Piper and Phoebe's advice from the start and just buckled down, done my homework, instead of trying to rush in to the 'fun stuff'." She added finger quotes to the last bit, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Well… it looks like you know what you're doing now. I'd say I don't think I could ever be a witchy encyclopedia like you," she shrugged. "You know, if you weren't me." She tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear. "So, uh, by 'fun stuff'," she said, in an exaggerated imitation of the other Paige's tone and finger quotes, "I'm guessing that magic isn't really gonna bring in the fun at any point?"

"Oh! No – I mean, a lot of it is fun in retrospect, I guess? And I wouldn't trade my magic for the world – which I guess might be a real choice for you what from what I've heard about your reality."

The red-headed Paige huffed an overwhelmed sigh at this. The other Paige gave her a sidelong smile. "You'll get it, eventually, whatever happens. Trust that. Of course, there's always Magic School, too."

"Wait – Magic school? Like Hogwarts?" asked the redhead incredulously.

"Not quite," replied Paige. "But if you've got a magical question, they've got a book on it. You're a little old to actually attend, but I'm sure there's some faculty willing to tutor you on the more advanced stuff. When I was headmistress-"

"Whoa! Hold on – I figured you just went there, or took Piper's kid there. You _ran_ it?"

Paige shrugged. "Only for, like, eight months – and that was only to keep it open. Those kids needed someone to in their corner, so I just did what I could. It's a long story. Anyway, when I was there, I learned a lot - about magic, sure, but more about taking what I'd learned from my sisters, and how to pass that on. Looking back, I'd say that's when I took my first real step toward being a whitelighter."

"Did I mention this is all crazy overwhelming? I mean, I just met my dead sister for the first time and now here I am, talking to_ myself, _and… I think I'm handling all this pretty damned well, all things considered. But I don't know how much more info I'm going to be able to take in. No offense!"

The brunette Paige laughed. "Hey – I hear ya! Not to poo-poo what you're going through but I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you mean. I mean, I hadn't been a witch for more than a day before we'd avenged Prue's death, got attacked by the Source, and I met Mom."

"You got to meet Mom?"

"You didn't?" asked the brunette, flabbergasted. It had been, for her, the cementing factor in deciding to stand by her sisters and embrace her destiny. It was the miracle of talking to her deceased mother that showed her the wonderful side of being a witch, and why dealing with the dangers was worth the cost.

The redhead shook her head. "I didn't even think it was possible. I mean, I know it's possible, because Piper told me about her Grams visiting on their first anniversary as witches." The visiting Paige was struck by this choice of phraseology, remembering back to when she'd first met the indomitable Penny Halliwell and realized she had enough room in her heart for the Grandmother she'd never known. Obviously this hadn't occurred here yet. The redheaded Paige continued. "It's not like she can just summon her for advice whenever she feels like it."

"Why shouldn't she be able to do that? We do it all the time – well, not too often. A day with Grams tends to remind you of why you don't summon her unless you have to," she remarked, the wry joking nature of her tone lost on her double.

The other Paige shrugged. "Search me – I don't know how most of this mumbo jumbo works, remember? I just know what Piper told me – that they haven't seen her wedding. And even then, that was the only time since she appeared in the attic ten years ago."

The brunette crossed her arms. This was one aspect of this reality that didn't make sense to her – what did acting selfishly have to do with being allowed to see Grams or Mom? If there was one thing Paige Matthews couldn't abide, it was a mystery that needed solving. "Wait, only the one time?"

Her double nodded. "It's one of Piper's favorite stories – after meeting our mother in the seventies. She said that their Grams appeared and told them that they were close to being ready to understand… something. Not really sure about that part." She shrugged. "Which, I guess they, or we, still aren't. Something to do with some magical rule or another, I think."

Paige nodded, remembering hearing that story when she'd asked how the book flipped its own pages. "See? You're getting the hang of magic's rules already!" she remarked, trying not to sound patronizing. "Now the question is what did my sisters learn that yours didn't?"

The redhead's eyes locked on Prue, across the room, and sighed. "A lot, apparently."

The hostility in her double's tone surprised the brunette Paige. "It's never too late to start fixing things, you know."

The redhead met her double's eyes, giving her a melancholy glare. "You can't fix dead."

"You'd be surprised!" replied the other Paige flippantly, to which her double furrowed her brow. "Never mind… ooookay…. Look, I know what you're saying, and more than anyone else I can relate. There was no saving our Prue, but somehow I still miss her, even though I never met her. I see her in the holes she left in Piper and Phoebe's lives and hearts, and somehow, I feel like I know her because of it. But what I'm getting at is that all the misuse of magic that your sisters have done…. They can stop. They can change. It's not any different than when we stopped drinking. They just need you to believe in them you like uncle Dave believed In us."

The redhead's expression softened and her eyes flitted back to Prue and Phoebe. "Did she ever let you in? As a sister, I mean."

The brunette Paige smiled softly. "Of course. I mean, she never said outright that I had to live up to Prue's legacy - that really that was in my own head, anyway. We butted heads for a while but eventually she learned to trust my judgment, and I learned how to be a sister. Don't let anybody tell you different; that is a learned skill. Most people just get to learn it as they grow up. She was tough on me at first, but looking back I realized that it was because she was afraid of losing me – because she loved me."

"I hope so. Sometimes I think she sees me as another Phoebe –but not in the good way. More like, because I'm the youngest, I have to be the most irresponsible. Like, every time I want to do things my way, it's because I'm rebelling – not because I'm just used to doing things my way. _Not_ by committee!"

Paige nodded in sympathy. "Don't worry, you'll see. She'll come around when you both learn to compromise. Tough love is just kinda Piper's thing."

"Piper? Are you kidding? She's been awesome – we haven't had a lot of witchy time together, what with everything going on, but she's done the best she can, insisting on sister days, and having me and Henry over at least once a week for dinner. I think with the divorce and Prue's constant M.I.A. status she needed another sister. I'm surprised I haven't put on a hundred pounds!" she said, patting her stomach. "I mean, we have our disagreements – mostly about focusing on using my powers to help people being targeted by that bastard Pratt, rather than waste time studying the Wiccan ways – but I know she respects my opinion on the matter. Prue on the other hand…." She shook her head. "I know she's freaked out about everything, but she won't even give me a chance to prove myself. I guess she cares, somewhere in there, but mostly It feels like she's catching up on the three decades of sibling rivalry we missed out on."

The other Paige laughed. "Sounds familiar! I guess the middle-sister peacemaker thing is real. Except in my case it was Phoebe who accepted me with open arms while Piper's were locked tighter than the rusted Tin Man's joints."

"So, what's the oil can?"asked the redhead.

"The oil can is good old-fashioned Halliwell hardheadedness. If Prue is anything like Piper was with me, she'll come around eventually. The funny thing is that in the end?"

"The butler did it?" rejoined the other Paige. At the raised eyebrow she received in response she smirked. "Sorry, couldn't help myself."

"Anyway. I think Piper respects my feelings and boundaries a lot more than Phoebe generally does, which means I'm much more likely to go to her for the sisterly advice these days."

"Isn't she supposed to be an advice columnist for that kind of stuff, and like, know better or something?"

The brunette cocked her head to one side. "You know that saying about how doctors make the worst patients? Turns out it's true for columnists too – kind of a do as I say, not as I do kind of thing."

The redheaded Paige chuckled, then shrugged. "I hope you're right. As it is, I hate to say it, but I'm kinda glad Prue is a workaholic."

"I think this little trip through the looking glass is gonna change that- among other things." She glanced at Phoebe and Prue, noting Phoebe's expression was what she and Piper had dubbed her "Oprah face". It was the look she got when evangelized about something important to her. "At least if Phoebe gets her way. And not having to worry about future consequences or personal gain… good luck stopping her."

An expression of concerned alarm clouded the redhead's face. Noticing this, Paige quickly threw up her hands. "Oh, yeah , the murder thing – don't worry. I didn't mean she'll just go off and do something completely cockamamie. Even if she were to get some Lucy Ricardo kinda scheme in her head – well, that's what sisters are for." She met her inexperienced double's gaze. "Which is also why you need to listen to Piper about making your magical education a priority."

The redheaded Paige shook her head. "There's no time for that- people are suffering out there. Innocent people who can't go through the usual channels. Even the ACLU is only willing to _consult _the accused – they won't represent them, since a lot of the people out there don't see a difference between demons and magical humans!"

"Okay… that's bad. Like, call in the X-Men, before there's mandatory mutant registration bad, but that's only more reason to have a firm grasp on your magic before you try and pull a Mother Teresa." She held up her hand as the other opened to her mouth to argue. "Eh, eh, eh! Just let me explain. I know how you feel. When I first got my powers the first thing I did was… let's say borrow… the book. Which I promptly used to help a friend, which then came back to bite me in the – well, breasts, not ass. Anyway, the point is you won't be doing anyone much good if you get yourself caught because you orb in somewhere at the wrong time, or something."

"You can orb to different places?" asked the other. Despite being the same age, and being clad in a far more sensible professional outfit, this reality's inexperience made her seem younger than her brunette counterpart.

"You've been a charmed one for six months now and you can't orb anywhere?" the brunette asked in surprise. By that time, for her, orbing was as natural as walking.

"Well, it's not like I can just head off to the – magic school, you called it? For my Orbing 101 class. Leo doesn't want me risking the safety of Melinda, should my identity be revealed and bring scrutiny back down on the family, so he won't teach me anything. Even if Prue had a spare moment for something outside Bucklands, she doesn't want me to learn. Piper will teach me witch stuff, but can't teach me whitelighter magic – never mind that we don't even know if I have full whitelighter potential at all, and she doesn't want me getting involved with the refugees either," the other answered defensively. "Now, if you've got a copy of 'Whitelighting For Dummies' on you I'll be _more_ than happy to read it! But if not, I can do without another exclamation about my _incredible_ ignorance."

"Hey – whoa. Sore spot, huh?" The redhead crossed her arms and merely grunted quietly in response. "It's cool – I get it. I've been there with the inadequacy complex… well, except for having another me come barging in." She gave her double an apologetic smirk, which the redhead returned hesitantly. "Look. All I'm saying is that I know you _really_ don't understand what's out there if you're willing to put yourself in danger with nothing more to protect yourself with than orbing that amounts to a party trick. Think about how much more good you could do – even with just the ability to could choose where you're orbing!"

"I can! Sort of." The brunette Paige raised an incredulous eyebrow."Ok, so maybe it's only across a room- but it's something!" After a moment of silence the redhead met the brunette Paiges eyes. "Ok, so what's your range, anyway?"

"Hmmm," replied the other, sarcastically stroking her chin between her fingers. "We talking Earth? Or the under and overworld too?" At the other's loss for words she continued. "Oh, right – I can go all those places!" She softened her expression at this, knowing that her twin would only tolerate as much smart-ass attitude as she herself would. "Hey, I don't mean to a bragoff – I'm just trying to make a point. As awesome any kind of rudimentary magic is, it's going to do jack shit against any demon – or mortal for that matter – with half a brain if you don't know what you're doing." She sighed and nodded her head in the direction of the attic door the two Pipers had recently exited through. "And you've got a pretty good and very willing mentor in this very house. Piper may pull the Mr. Miyagi crap from time to time, but having to teach magic myself, it turns out that usually that kind of approach has a point. I don't know Prue – not really - but I know that she had one hell of a head for it too. So, if she comes around to Phoebe's point of view and you do end up her padawan, I'd suggest listening."

"So… what? You can orb to Hong Kong or something?"

The experienced Paige chuckled. "In less than 12 parsecs. But, uh, you _were _listening to the rest of my little speech right? Cause I haven't put away the soapbox just yet…"

The other nodded. "Yeah. I heard you. And I get your point. I just…" She sighed. "Honestly? It's been nearly a year and I still don't get this whole sister thing. It was always just me, Mom, and Dad, you know? And then…. Just me." The brunette Paige nodded slowly as a melancholy cloud drifted across her face, but she didn't interrupt. "I mean. Aunt Julie and Uncle Dave were great and all – but they were always more married to the Peace Corps than the family…"

"And that's why finding my family – our sisters was the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"And hearing you – who is basically _me_ – say that… that's what's wrong."

The brunette Paige frowned. "Now you've lost me."

The other swallowed hard against the growing lump in her throat. "Until today, I'd just assumed that my feelings were normal. I mean, when Mom and Dad died I was pushing them away-"

"- Normal for any teenager. Trust me. I've taught enough of them"

"Yeah, I know. I _am _a professional social worker, you know. Not exactly filled with Brady Bunch teens. It's not my teenage behavior that your arrival has me questioning. It's that from what I've gathered, you and your Piper and Phoebe were thick as thieves after a year. So what's my problem? "

"Hey – we had demons to bond over – and without being suspect number one for exposing the magical community. And we still had our own close calls. Things are gonna be different."

"And that makes sense- I guess. But meanwhile, I'd just gotten married and figured out the whole balancing 'me' versus 'we' aspect of that when I find out that I'm really a Halliwell – oh, and a witch; sister to an evil, murderous, witch no less!"

The other Paige gave her a stern look. "Phoebe isn't evil. Not mine. Not yours."

"I know – I know. I'm just saying, that's the rabbit hole I suddenly found myself falling through. And that's why I thought this was just how things had to be. And here you come, blowing that theory to kingdom-come. So – now what?" She threw up her hands.

"Now… ? Okay, so I don't totally know. But what I do know is that the whole charmed package – the magic, having sister, has been the most difficult – and most rewarding - thing I've ever had in my life. There's thorns on the roses, but they're worth the occasional prick. If you use that hard Halliwell head and keep pushing, things will work out. Hell, it's not like I figured out my role in this family overnight; never mind balancing that without losing myself along the way."

The redhead shook her head. "You can say that all you want, but I don't even know where to start…"

"How about by forgiving the shortcomings of your sisters?" answered the other gently.

"I know they're not perfect… let alone evil-"

"No, nothing like that. What I mean is that you have to realize that magic is like any other kind of power. It comes with great responsibility-"

"-thank you Spiderman," interjected the redhead.

The other Paige continued, ignoring the joke. "And great temptation. The only reason any of us were born as the Charmed Ones is because you grew past the mistakes we've made in other lives."

"What? Like _past_ lives? I remember Piper mentioning something about Phoebe's past life and… having to kill her. Doesn't sound like much growth going on there to me."

The magically experienced Paige shook her head. "You're missing the point. And you're not innocent either, you know. Haven't you ever wondered why you'd make up a story like the Evil Enchantress as a kid?"

"You're not about to tell me that-"

"-she was you? You betcha I am! And by the way, you thinking meeting me Is weird, you try meeting your evil past life who tries to kill you!"

"But… wouldn't she be killing herself that way?"

"Evil isn't exactly known for thinking things through; which is probably why they're destined to lose. But that's not the point. She was hoping to off me before I could do any more good on karmic scale, setting me up for a backslide."

"But why would she care about that?"

"Because evil thinks that freedom from rules – total self-interest – is the key to power. The funny thing is that every demon that's gone after us and our powers were never really vanquished with Halliwell magic."

"What did, then? Girl power?"

"Ha. And no. What really vanquished them was the power of three."

"And that's not the same things as Charmed magic, how?"

The brunette crossed her arms. "It took me a long time to realize that all the worrying I was doing about losing my independence after I found my sisters was pointless. But it was right there, in the power of three spell. 'The power of three will set us free'," she intoned. "Get it? You can't risk it all without a safety net; something to catch you when you fall. The real power of being Charmed isn't in the raw magical power. It's the connection. It's like a triangle – it's the strongest geometric shape when it's intact. But you pull one of the sides away and it falls apart. You three_ have_ to be there for each other."

"So… what? I'm supposed to fix that? Because I won't lie – the way Phoebe kept saying I – or you, that – saved the family is kinda freaking me out. I don't think I can deal with that kind of pressure. And I sure as hell didn't ask for it!"

"No! For every time I may have knocked a little sense into my sisters, they've done just as much for me. It may be scary, but they can only do that if you let them in. Let them help you. Guide you. And you guide them. Without this family, I never would have gotten to meet Mom and Grams, or probably even Sam… and I definitely wouldn't have been able to see Dad and Mom again."

This caught the redheaded Paige's attention. "Wait! You mean…?"

The other nodded. "Yeah." She wore a melancholy smile. "When I froze up at a car accident, Phoebe and Piper, being their bull-headed selves, wouldn't let it go. I was still uber-new to the whole sister thing, and just wished they'd leave me alone at first, but… well long story short, that was when I first learned that some things are just meant to be. And I can tell you for a fact that they've been with you every step of the way since that say. And they're proud of you. And how could I step away from magic, and this family, after they've given me that? Trust me, as long as you remember that this family only works when at least one of us still has their feet on the ground – and it's not always going to have to be you. Everyone gets their chance to be the designated basketcase."

The clatter of someone stomping out of the attic abruptly interrupted their conversation. The pair turned just in time to see Prue disappearing down the attic stairs. "Where's Prue going?" the brunette Paige asked Phoebe.

Phoebe cocked her head. "Oh, probably to _a mental _institution!" With that, she took off after the bottle blonde version of her oldest sister.

"Shouldn't we go after them?" asked the redhead.

The other Paige shook her head. "Lesson numero uno when dealing with sisters – if you're not part of the drama? Stay out of it. At least, until someone asks you to do otherwise."

"And then?"

"Then you know you're not the designated basketcase for that week. And try not to take sides."

"Oh._ Lovely_," replied the inexperienced Paige. "Now, have you got any advice I can actually use, or is my life destined to be one long kobayashi maru exercise?"

"First of all, that advice is far from useless. Second of all – of course I do." She propped an elbow on the book's podium. "You want a crash course in the art of witch-lighting? Then you can call me Obi-Witch Kenobi. You got a pen somewhere around here?"

"In the credenza, I think. Why?" she asked as she pulled a pen out of the nearby drawer.

"A crash course isn't worth much if you can't go back and check your notes after I leave – and possibly some little witchlighter kids to guide in the future. May as well add a few tips to the book. I'm not exactly going to be in calling distance."

"Good point," Paige nodded, handing her double the writing instrument.

The brunette Paige flipped to the end of the book where a few blank pages were at her disposal. "I figure Piper, and hopefully Prue, will be able to teach you the witch side of things. So… hows about we focus on the whitelighter stuff that you should be able to do."

"Wait – you can do more than orb?" asked the novice Paige.

"Oh, yeah! The whole package. Well, except the dust thing. And the clickety-clack language thing… but I think that's just some kinda 'you didn't die so you don't get to sit at our lunch table' cliquey thing." At her double's confused look she shrugged. "Eh! Don't worry about it. They're boring anyway. What I can teach you should come pretty damned handy when you're ready to start helping witches in hiding." She turned her attention back to the book as she started to add a subject title in practiced calligraphy. "So! Where do you wanna start? Orbing? Healing? Or glamouring?"

"What's glamouring?"

"Oh, honey! What's glamouring? Let me tell you about the time Janice Dickinson came to my funeral…"

"You know Janice Dickinson?" exclaimed the novice.

Paige chuckled. "Not exactly…" Her face suddenly sobered. "Wait. Maybe that's not the best example. Your reality has enough problems with personal gain issues… There was this time Phoebe had to break a curse, so I had to make myself look like her while-"

"You know there's no way in hell you're getting out of here without telling me that story!"

The other Paige sighed melodramatically and shot her double a reluctant smirk. "Yeah… a girl's gotta try! Just, uh… while I'm telling you this, try to keep in mind that that whole situation and the personal gain fallout resulted in the ultimate battle and me and Phoebe dying, okay?"

The other Paige traced a symbol across the left side of her chest. "Cross my heart. Now spill!" she exclaimed mischievously.

The brunette sighed. "Ok, so there we were – dead to the world. Literally, as far as the rest of the world was concerned, and leprechauns as far as your eyes could see..."


	10. Premonitions, Schemonitions!

**A/N: This is a long one, so settle in with some popcorn, I hope you enjoy! Let me know your thoughts.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: Premonitions, Schmemonitions! <strong>

As the twin Pipers disappeared downstairs, Prue couldn't help but study the new Piper, now that she knew she without that Piper noticing. The pair were nearly identical, but it was the little differences that spoke volumes. Most of her business life was dependent on fitting in with her extremely wealthy clientle, which meant dressing the part. As such, Prue had developed a keen eye for fashion – and knockoffs. The newly arrived Piper's fashion sense was in line with her own sister's, but unlike her version's bargain rack outfits, this Piper's closet was clearly stocked with premium labels.

She was first struck by this when she noticed Piper's heeled patent-leather boots, which she recognized as coming from Astarte's latest fall collection. Once she'd noticed this, she couldn't help but size up the rest of her clothes. While it was a distinctly sensible, and not outwardly ostentatious, it was plain to see that they were well-tailored and made from high-quality fabrics. Really looking at the two side by side reminded Prue of the articles you'd occasionally see in women's magazines aimed at showing women how to build a stylish outfit on a budget. Except in this case, it was her Piper sporting the bargain knockoffs of what the new Piper wore.

She hadn't realized until that moment to expect anything different from her sister. After all, she was frumpy Piper – always favoring practicality and modesty over flirty and fun. In the past few years, after she'd moved out, she'd rarely seen her sister outside of a vanquish, so hadn't really given her sister's clothes a second look. She may have never been one for glitz, but she'd blossomed as an adult, particularly when P3 took off. Prue realized her sister was still putting on the best front she could, and she looked professional, but living on what must be a tight budget for a single mom paying the mortgage on a massive home (never mind the bills) on a loan officer's salary had left her wardrobe aging and decidedly less smartly cut compared to her double.

Sure, Prue's Piper obviously spent more time on her makeup and hair, but it suddenly brought to mind how intricate hairstyles became all the rage during the Great Depression, when most women couldn't afford elaborate fashions. You can't afford the niceties, so you compensate in the places that don't cost so much. Somehow, this other Piper was better off with a dead big sister that her own was with a merely absent one. _'What does that say-' _ A light touch to her shoulder startled Prue out of her reverie and she spun around like a frightened cat. "Jesus, Phoebe!"

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

Prue shook her head as her hackles went down. "I guess I've been dead long enough in your reality that you've forgotten that it's dangerous to sneak up on a woman who can move things with her mind! Lucky for you, I've been working on my control since everything went haywire…"

Phoebe sighed. "You may very well be right. But it looks like your mind is busy doing heavy lifting of the non-telekinetic variety."

"Not exactly… just wondering." She turned back, facing the attic door.

Phoebe placed her hand on Prue's shoulder gently. "She's doing pretty great. A little frazzled lately, what with trying to get her restaurant open."

"She doesn't look it," replied Prue.

"Well, you know Piper. If she's not busy, she's not happy. Leo's the only person I've ever that made her want to slow down."

A small smile flit over Prue's face before quickly fading. "I know. That's… not really what I was wondering about." Prue bit her bottom lip nervously, not sure of how much she should say; what she could stand to say.

"What _were_ you thinking about, then?" asked Phoebe softly. Prue, lip still between her teeth, didn't answer. "You chew that thing much longer and you won't need to invest in lipstick ever again…"

Prue narrowed her eyes at Phoebe, but not before released her bottom lip. "Hey! _You_ interrupted _me,_ remember?" She shrugged. "Truth be told… I'm not sure what I'm thinking right now."

"C'mon Prue. If there's one thing I know, there are two things that will never change about you in any reality."

"And that would be?"

"One: your gut never lies, and two: you'd never put yourself ahead of your family," she gave her eldest sister's double a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

Prue cast her gaze to the floor. "Don't be so sure of that second one, Pheebs," she said flatly.

"Prue…" Phoebe began to protest.

"No. Save it." Prue's tone turned from flat to hard and icy. "You don't know me. I'm not your Prue. If I were, none of this would have happened! Because she put family first!"

"Okay – so you're not! It doesn't matter; you're close enough. So don't try to feed me that load of horse crap about not being there for your family!"

"Look, I know you can't say it, because saying it to me would be like saying it to the sister you lost, so let me. Paige was exactly right – I work because it's easier than dealing." She swallowed, but the repressed thought bubbled to the surface anyway, and with such force that there was no stopping the hushed, raw, rant that spewed out. "If I'm not here, then I don't have to feel it! And the sickest thing of all?" she added in a suddenly quite tone. She shook her head as if trying to dispose of the thought. "The day is going to come when I don't even show up for the vanquishes. I haven't been able to stomach it yet, but holy hell, do I want to just _not_ show up! Because one day… I'm going to see it happen – I'm going to see a demon… or Pratt… or some vigilante witch hunter - kill my sister, and I_ won't_ be able to survive that, Phoebe! Happy now?"

Phoebe blinked back tears, realizing that she'd have to be the sounding board for everything Prue had been bottling up. Maybe it was because Prue had only realized, after it was too late, that she needed to get the closure with this reality's Phoebe. Maybe it was her education in psychology pulling away Prue's ice queen façade. Or maybe it was Coop's magic. Phoebe didn't know, and couldn't care less. The point now was to keep her talking and to use those brick tumbling from the wall around her heart to build a bridge back to her sisters.

Prue stole a glance at the two Paiges who seemed to be having a jovial time together while flipping through the book. She spun on her heel and threw herself down on to Aunt Pearl's couch and buried her face against the heels of her hands, as if she could push the tears back in from where they'd escaped. It wasn't more than a moment before Phoebe slipped down beside Prue and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Prue didn't look up, keeping her voice in a gravely low tone. "And the day Paige can take my place by Piper's side is when it'll happen."

"That doesn't have to happen," replied Phoebe quietly. "Or do you still not get what I said earlier - about the little choices often being the most important?" A pause between the two was filled only with the murmuring tones of the Paiges, Leo, and Coop. Finally, Phoebe nudged Prue playfully with her hip. If sympathy wouldn't do it, it would have to be antagonism. "You're wrong, by the way."

"What?" Prue looked up, dropping her hands, though she remained slouched forward, her elbows propped on her knees.

"You're wrong," Phoebe said without inflection. "You yourself admitted that you're carrying that albatross on your neck, that little voice telling you that everyone around you will die. But it's not that you're afraid you'll be witness to our deaths – you're afraid you're going to bring it _to_ us. "

"To-may-to, to-mah-to."

"So let's call the whole pity party off," finished Phoebe. "The real self-serving thing at play here is that you're making it all about you. Whether you realize it, or it's just hidden in your subconscious, it's plain to see that you believe that the only people worth killing are the ones you love, because it punishes _you. _So if you're not around, they don't get hurt? Well, you're wrong. And it's time you start realizing it."

Prue turned her head to direct her stony gaze at Phoebe. "Well, thank you Miss Mary Worth. It's _all_ okay now! _Gee_, isn't it a _shame_ that we don't have some kind of flavored international coffee to mark this _special _moment in our lives? Face it Phoebe – I'm even more of a ghost than your Prue is. "

Phoebe shook her head. "That's not true." Prue simply cocked an eyebrow at her, to which Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know you're not talking literally. And I still mean it."

"Have you considered why I've done so well at Bucklands?"

Phoebe shrugged. "Since when weren't you good at everything you try, Prue?"

Prue sat up. "Okay – now I'm wondering if you aren't really an imposter after all. That actually sounded sincere. The Phoebe I grew up with never missed a chance to take a jab at me when I screwed up!" Her tone was lighter now, but still laced thick with defensiveness.

Phoebe frowned. "Hey, I know what a brat I could be, especially when not everything went your way… but did it ever occur to you that I needed those moments to show me that everybody screwed up sometimes? So that I wouldn't feel like a total disappointment?"

"I… never really thought about it," answered Prue. "Really?"

Phoebe sat back and threw her hands up. "Of course! But I was a kid – we both were. And on top of that you were like a mom that I was expected to live up to. At least Piper had the nerd thing going on while she was setting crazy high academic expectations with teachers that they expected me to meet when I finally got to their class. Meanwhile, there you are, the complete package; pretty, smart, popular, and even artistic! A girl can only go on stage after that kind of opening act so many times before she realizes that if you can't win, don't try." Phoebe cleared her throat, realizing that she'd gotten off on a tangent. This was supposed to be about Prue, not her. "Anyway… yeah, I… had a lot of time to think about it. After you were gone. And ok, yeah, I admit that I've probably created a kind of Glamour Shots version of you, or my Prue really, in my head over the years. Just like I'm sure you did with Mom."

"It doesn't ever feel right to think about all the fights and the bad things about a sister after she's gone, does it?" remarked Prue, avoiding Phoebe's eyes.

"I suppose not. And my sister has been gone a lot longer than yours. At some point… the person that you're holding onto in your head is more paper doll than flesh and blood. You don't have to push the bad stuff away because it's forgotten. And that's kinda… worse."

"I don't know about that. I mean, why remember the bad stuff?" replied Prue.

"Prue…" began Phoebe, but she immediately realized they were on a tangent that she was beginning to think Prue purposely created to get her off track. "Nevermind. What were you saying about why you've done so well at Bucklands?"

Prue looked back at the ground again. "It's because I don't care," she finally said reluctantly.

"I'm sorry I don't follow. Why would you work so much then?"

"I don't care about the people I work with. About the clients. About the people in there, selling off their dead loved one's estate, or even the dead guy and how he wants his prized possessions handled." She looked up at Phoebe, her jaw tightly. "Because I didn't care, I could make the hard choices. Cutting the fat, and laying off hard-working people, so investors see a better bottom line. Screwing a widow out of her rightful percentage of profit because she doesn't know better. I don't care, because I've learned how to make everyone I meet, in my mind, another little Jackie Paper who isn't real. And the more I stayed away from my family, the ones who had already wormed their way into my heart when I was still naïve enough to let them in, the more two dimensional they got in my head as well."

"Until she burned?" stated Phoebe.

Prue barked a sharp, bitter laugh. "Paper burns too." But she still wouldn't look Phoebe in the eye.

"Prue…" began Phoebe. She wasn't about to let Prue dodge her way out of this one with pithy remarks.

"Okay, okay. I guess what I'm getting at is that I realized today… I realized that I'm the paper doll here. I'm pretty, I've got lots of pretty dresses I can wear, and I'm lifeless. And all it takes is one big puff from fate to send me fluttering into the wind." Finally she sat up, put her hands authoritatively on her knees, and looked at Phoebe. "And that, you see, is why _I'm_ much more of a ghost than your Prue will ever be."

Phoebe paused for moment. "I think you're confusing ghosts with zombies," she replied, as if correcting her grammar. The only response Prue could formulate was to stare incredulously at Phoebe, who simply shrugged. "Not that I'm an expert on that kind of thing. That's more Paige's department."

"_That's_ your response? I'm pouring my heart out here, for reasons that I can't really fathom, so I'll go ahead and blame it on that cupid of yours, and _that's _your response. Cause I can pull out the Encyclopedia Demonica if that's what you'd rather discuss."

"No. I think I'm good." Phoebe cocked her head to one side, and couldn't help the small smirk playing on her lips. "I'm just trying to knock you out of the gear that you seem to have been stuck in for years. And it's like pulling teeth, but I think we just got the first one out."

Prue scrunched her nose, as if smelling something rank. "Could you pick a less gross metaphor?"

Phoebe shrugged. "Hey, I'm just playing this right off the cuff. It's not gonna be Shakespeare. Now, I'm not Oliver and you're not the Artful Dodger, so quit sidestepping my point, here."

Prue crossed her arms. "And if I don't want to?"

"Then I get Coop to give you your very own magical version of 'This is Your Life', except there's no lifetime of free turtle wax at the end of it." She paused for a moment, letting the levity wane. "Seriously Prue. I can't go back to my reality, where my Prue doesn't get her second chance at it all, without knowing the woman who she could have easily become, you, is taking her best shot of it. I wouldn't be butting in if I thought you were happy. Or even content. And clearly… you _are not_."

Prue sighed. "You want me to open up and take that leap. I get it, really, I do. But I'm scared, okay? I mean, if just one thing was different – just one of the myriad of shitty circumstances in this world were different, I'd be right on board with you. But I'm scared, okay? Do you know what it's like to have nothing but still feel like taking a chance, you could lose everything? That doesn't even make sense, but that's how I feel!" She buried her face in her hands again, fingers rubbing her closed eyes, and let out a frustrated grumble. "It would all be so much simpler if…" She froze, as if realizing something.

"Simpler if what, Prue?" asked Phoebe. She was hoping that Prue had come to some sort of revelation, but that's not what her body language was telling Phoebe. Whatever it was, she had a bad feeling about it. "Prue?"

Prue looked up, her face wearing a nervous, but hopeful expression. "Just.. hear me out on this, okay?"

"Okay… but until I hear more, that's all I'm promising."

"Fair enough," replied Prue, which should have been enough for Phoebe, but she was still getting the tingling feeling at the base of her neck that felt like a premonition trying to worm its way out. "Right now, our biggest problem is Pratt and his damned crusade against magic, right?" Phoebe nodded slowly. "So… if we didn't have our powers anymore, we'd be safe. We wouldn't have to worry. Even if they tested us, if we took the power stripping potion and said the spell to banish them, there would be nothing to test for! No magic getting in the way. If Leo joined us, maybe he and Piper's marriage might be saved."

Phoebe shook her head. "Prue… even if that stuff about coming up negative for magical blood isn't just a theory, which I'm betting it is, I heard what Piper and your Paige said. Paige wants to use it for what it was meant for – saving innocents. It's what we were born to do. And Piper… good luck taking away the best defense she could ever have for her child. I don't care what reality I'm in. When it comes right down to it, she'd never agree to something that would make her child less safe!"

Prue picked at one of her cuticles absently, considering Phoebe's argument. "But if Paige never has to learn magic, and become a fully functioning, demon ass-kicking Charmed One, I'll never be able to convince myself that she and Piper are safer without me! And if they don't like the idea, well… what they don't…" she stopped herself, clearly censoring the thoughts she was willing to share.

"Prue, honey… I know it seems like the best solution for you, but it's not for them. You can try and talk to them. Maybe I'm wrong, after all, they're not exactly like my sisters." She placed a comforting hand onto Prue's knee, but before any response could come she was sucked into a vision.

_A blonde Prue glanced over her shoulder, clearly nervous as she shook a glass decanter, then added a pinch of dandelion and a dash of chickweed.__The clear concoction first became cloudy, then turned a bright shade of cardinal red. A flash! She pours the potion into five juice glasses, mixed with some cranberry juice. The glasses set at a family breakfast at the Manor. A flash! Piper attempts to freeze a cookie jar that Melinda has accidently knocked over but nothing happens and it shatters. A flash! A confrontation as Piper and Prue face off. Powerless, it degenerates into a battle of household items being thrown at each other's heads, with Paige, Henry, and Leo in the middle, trying to talk some sense into the feuding sisters. A clearly neophyte warlock blinks in, taking advantage of the powerless and distracted sisters and fatally stabs Leo and Henry. A flash! The Manor's door slams in Prue's face. Piper, Paige, and Melinda stand together in the foyer, the adults seething as Melinda stands still, trying to understand feelings of betrayal that no child can really process._

Phoebe gasped and pulled her hand back as she came back to the present, her eyes squeezed shut.

"What is it? What did you see?"asked Prue in alarm.

Phoebe, eyes still tightly closed, sighed, then slowly peeled one eye open, Her pupil quickly locked onto Prue, and she slowly opened the other. Prue had never felt quite so much like a specimen being scrutinized under a microscope as she did at the moment. There was a long pause as Phoebe studied Prue through squinted eyes. Suddenly she slapped Prue on her shoulder. "What is it going to take to get through to you?" she exclaimed.

Prue yelped in surprise throwing up her arms to block another blow from Phoebe. "What? What?"

"I saw what you did! Or you know, what you were thinking or planning or whatever!"

"Damnit, Phoebe! I don't know what you're talking about!" Prue attempted to take hold of Phoebe's wrists, but years of hand to hand demon-fu had left the younger woman with reflexes that rivaled those of professional martial artists.

Instead, Phoebe let Prue take hold and reversed the move, grappling Prue instead, and forced her hands down, into her lap. This served to snap Prue's focus to Phoebe and the pair was suddenly still. Phoebe shook her head, sadly. "Prue… you can't strip your family of their powers against their will."

Prue met Phoebe's gaze defiantly for a long moment. "It would be for the best."

"Prue…" she gave Prue's wrists a squeeze. "Prue. I believe that you believe that. But it's not. And if you do that… it will turn out even worse than I could've imagined."

"And what exactly did you see?"

"You don't wanna know." Phoebe licked her lips. "Look, I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say that not only do your sisters not take kindly to you stripping their powers without their permission – surprise, surprise, by the way – but Piper's worries about demon attacks are well-founded. And all you'll do is leave them defenseless and… not everyone will get out of it alive."

Prue went slack at this and Phoebe let her go, leaving her to slump back into the couch. "Okay… but there has to be another way."

"I'm going to tell you what Mom told us, when we were dealing with losing our sister and finding Paige. This is more than anybody should have to deal with, but you're going to have to deal with it any way you know how – I'll add the little caveat here that the way you three have been dealing for the past 10 years _obviously_ needs to change. This is your path, your destiny. And you can cry about it; get angry about it. But don't fight it, or it _will_ consume you. If me and my sisters found a way, so can you and yours. And not just survive… but build a real life. A life worth the hardships."

Prue stayed silent, staring at her hands in her lap. "You're right," she said quietly. "Mom was right." She blinked back tears. "But as long as I know what happened to Phoebe… I can't. I let this family fall apart, and as long as I know that, I can't let it all in. I just… can't. And if I can't do that it's just not going to work!"

"I never said it was going to easy. Nothing worth doing ever is, right?"

At this, a light appeared in Prue's eyes. "No… I suppose not. And I'm glad you're the one to say so… I mean, it's as close as coming to her as I'm going to get, right?" She was more mumbling to herself at this point than talking to Phoebe. "And that's… that's what has to happen. It's the only way…" She shot to her feet. "If I can't strip our powers, then, it's the only way… I'm sorry. It has to be this way." She abruptly turned and made a beeline for the door, her heels clattering loudly against the hardwood floor. Phoebe, not expecting the sudden action, blinked before coming to her senses and bolting upright to her feet.

"Where's Prue going?" she heard one of the Paiges ask.

Phoebe cocked her head, watching as Prue fled the attic. "Oh, probably to _a mental_institution!" With that, she took off after a sister whose decision-making skills seemed to be quickly deteriorating in reaction to her whole world view being put on its ear.

She scrambled down the stairs as quickly as she could in her less than sensible heels, her head darting left and right to make sure Prue hadn't made her way into one of them. They were all empty as she passed, aside from the two Pipers hovering over Melinda. She sped up as she hit the bottom of the stairs, as there as the clear sound of footsteps making their way through the kitchen. From there, she could see the door to the basement was wide open, the light on. "Ah-ha!" She took of down the steps. "Prue? Prue, honey? You're not about to do something rash that we're all going to regret later, now are you?" Finally, she spotted Prue in at the washing machine as she used her powers to shift the appliance away from the wall.

Prue dropped to her knees, and didn't look up. "Rash? Maybe. Regret? Not possible." She began testing brick after brick, much in the manner one would on Jenga blocks. "Well, I won't, anyway. Maybe it won't effect the afterlife. I'm not really sure." Finally, she seemed to find the brick she was looking for, which wiggled loosely. Lacking a proper nook, as the brick sunk slightly deeper into the wall than the others, she quickly gave up finding a finger hold and simply squinted at it to pull it toward her and out of the wall. She telekinetically let the brick drop the moment it was free, and reach a hand into the empty space. A moment later, she pulled a small black, leather-bound book from the dusty brick tomb.

In the mean time, Phoebe had made her way over and was now standing over Prue's shoulder. "Prue… is that what I think it is?" It certainly looked like a certain magical item she'd seen before.

Prue blew a thick layer of chalky dust from the little book. "I wouldn't know, Pheebs. You're the mind reader, not me."

"Is that Grams' personal spell book?" After the unfortunate age regression incident she and her sisters had experienced thanks to Grams and that book, the sisters had agreed to keep it under lock and key in a safe deposit box in the attic. It could only be opened by way of a long and utterly intricate to pronounce password, for fear of one of the boys, or any future children, getting their mischievous little hands on it and conjuring who knew what. Destroying it didn't seem entirely appropriate, as every secret weapon was another out for them in the fight against evil.

"We have a winner," replied Prue and she got back to her feet and dusted herself off. "We found it years ago, but once Pratt began his crusade, we knew it had to be hidden to keep it safe."

"So why didn't you just put it with the Book of Shadows?"

"Haven't you ever heard about how you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket?" asked Prue as she headed back to the stairs. The lighting in the basement was about as helpful as reading by matchstick.

Phoebe followed closely and stood near the stove on the opposite of the kitchen island, where Prue had settled onto a stool. "Right. Ok then, new question. Just what do you think you're up to now?"

"Look, I know you're not going to like it, but I realized that the only way for this family to heal is to let go of the guilt and the fear. At least, about what happened to you."

"Prue, you can't just magically suppress emotions. They _will_ find a way out, and if you're not actively making sure it's coming out in a good way, there will be magical blowback.

"It's not a repression spell I'm looking for, Phoebe." She began to rifle through the small pages.

"Well, you sure as hell better not be trying to raise the dead! Because that never ends pretty! And time travel… that's messy…"

"Don't be silly Phoebe. I know that the best that best case scenario that could possibly come out of raising the dead is selling the movie right so Wes Craven can make 'Pet Cemetary 2'. And time travel, which would be ideal, was beyond even Grams' power, remember? So why would she have it in her note book?" Phoebe let out a sigh of relief. "It's a memory spell," added Prue under her breath.

"What?" cried Phoebe.

"It's the only way, Phoebe. I'm sorry. But it's the only way I know how to face my destiny, like you said."

"I never said anything about making yourself forget everything!"

"Not everything, Pheebs… " She looked at her baby sister's double. "Just you."

Phoebe was stunned. That had not been an answer she was prepared for. "You can't… Prue, how is that supposed to work? Surely there's going to be a problem when there's constant talk about the witch trials and my being burned at the stake!" It was the best counter-argument she could make while that unprepared, and honestly, a bit of hurt for good measure.

Prue stopped turning pages and became suddenly still and serious. "I can, Phoebe. But I'm not erasing my Phoebe from our memories all together. Just that you were our sister. She said the last very quietly, as shame crept into her voice. "You were right when you said that the right choice wasn't usually the easiest one. And this _isn't easy_ Phoebe. But it's the only way." Her eyes welled up, finally, and her skin flushed red, before a single tear finally broke the dam and rolled down her cheek.

"Prue… you can't do this. Even if the spell went exactly as you wanted, something will happen to gum up the works, because you're still fighting your destiny. Believe me, those friggin' angel always get their way. And I'm not saying this just because you want to erase me from the family…"

Prue was weeping silently, as if someone had turned on the waterworks and left them running. Prue dully wiped away the tears with the heels of her hands, smearing the streaks of her heavy mascara across her cheeks.. "You know I haven't cried since… you know, I don't know when?" She sniffled, quietly adding, "I didn't cry at her funeral."

Phoebe pulled off a piece of paper towel, and handed it to Prue. "It's okay, Prue. But I know you can't do this."

Prue dabbed at her eyes. "No, it's not okay, Phoebe!" she snapped. "It's not… but I have to. Don't you get it? I can't do this _thing_ you and your sisters want! This isn't your reality – you don't know what it's been like. And I can't do it again – it's all too much! I can't do it as long as I know what happened to you!"

Phoebe sighed. "So, this ball-busting Prue I've been led to believe is tougher than nails is really just a frightened little kitten. I take it back. You're not the tin man with no heart; you're the wizard behind the curtain. All big bluster."

Prue shrugged and looked at Phoebe through eyes narrowed defensively. "And now you know the secret to my success," she said, bitterly. "So, you see, I'm not your Prue. She didn't go through what I went through. I mean, we're the same people, up til ten years ago, right?" Phoebe nodded. "I know you've said that you and your sisters went through just as much, but how could that possibly be, if _your_ family hasn't fallen apart?"

"You sound like Piper, when we found Paige… I don't know how we did it. I don't know how she did. We were just there for each other. And Paige was the best thing that could have happened. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy right off the bat. We had to figure out what being her sister meant, just like she did." Phoebe walk around the kitchen island to come and sit next to Prue, who was staring at the countertop. The tears had slowed, but her face was still a blotchy mix of red and white. "Prue… you have two choices here…. And neither involves using magic to solve our problems. You're living what happens when you take that road. So, either you keep living a life where you're alone, even in a room full of people, or you tale that leap and trust that things will work out the way they're supposed to. If there's one thing I know, it's that this family is made up of amazing people. And if something is meant to be fixed, it will. Open your heart to it Prue, whatever it is that will make you happy, and take that leap and build something new. Your sisters _will_ be there for you, I know it. If my Prue can make everyday of her life about fulfilling her bucket list, so can you!"

Prue shook her head, clearly still not believing. "I wish I could. But how am I supposed to give it all up – isn't it everything people tell you you're supposed to strive for, growing up? What happens to the family is I fail, Pheebs?"

"You know what my Prue thought when she saw your life here? Of all the money and the power, but without a friend or family in sight? She didn't want her tombstone to read like she thought yours would."Phoebe swallowed hard. It was still hard to think about how soon after those events that she and Piper had needed to order that grave marker, and everything was so raw in the presence of this mirror version of her sister.

"And what did she think it would be?" asked Prue flatly.

"I don't know if I should…" Phoebe realized that her tongue had gotten away with her, and she'd shared a bit more than she'd meant to. Somehow, it didn't feel right to throw Prue's own words back at herself; especially when Phoebe's own reality may have been built on the decisions Prue made in reaction seeing this possible future.

"Don't condescend, Phoebe. I'm still your big sister," prodded Prue.

"Oookay… fine." She paused to gather her thoughts and figure out the best approach to telling Prue that her reality was essentially based on her example of how not to live. They hadn't know it until today, but truly, it had been Prue's revelation and decision to follow her dreams that had made their lives possible. "Well, Prue… I guess you could say that it all comes down to you-" She gently placed her right hand over Prue's left and squeezed.

Prue's whole body seized up, her perfectly manicured nails digging into Phoebe's hand as her eyes rolled up back into her head. "Aw, crap," said Phoebe.

_Prue and Piper stand, holding each other, sobbing as Phoebe's screams echo in the metallic death chamber. The smell of Phoebe's hair burning fills her nostrils and suddenly it's gone. They're back in vow to never use their powers to punish. It's their job to bring evil to justice, not enact it. A flash. Flirting, kissing a man named Bane. A flash. Quitting Bucklands. Landing her dream job as a photojournalist with 415 magazine. A flash. Bringing a child murderer to justice. A doctor driven mad by the Charmed Ones powers, letting them drive him so far into using them for good that the line between good and evil is blurred. She and her sisters making a pact that saving one sibling can't be at the expense of even one other innocent. _

_The story came faster now, with the Triad threat looming, Prue becomes obsessed with demon hunting. Her job as a photographer let's her obsess in ways that Phoebe, in school, and Piper dealing with her and Leo's relationship, cannot. A guy named Sean sits at P3, waiting for Prue, who never shows. She traps Cole with a crystal cage, setting off her first suspicions about him. She'd nearly shot by a stalker, making her realize the dangers in life aren't just demonic, and she'll never be able to stop them all. She reprioritizes, putting her personal life above her need to control everything, settling on being as careful as she can. A fight and the triquetra on the book comes apart, leaving the sisters powerless – until they risk their lives for each other and the bond Is reformed. Image after image of her sisters risking each other's lives for the greater good, trusting that things will work out. _

_Prue confessing that she's envious of what Phoebe and Cole have, dreams of following her heart the same way, risking it all. Images of what's happened to them when they let vengeance, selfishness, and anger take hold: Phoebe letting Cole go, and a romance that eventually left her corrupted and the Source's queen. Prue infected with the sin of pride and throwing herself into hell rather than admit needing help. Phoebe as a banshee, Piper as a Fury, Paige breaking up a wedding in jealousy, Phoebe and a turkey. An Elder who has taken the greater good into his hands, against destiny, and making Wyatt a monster. The world so unbalanced, tipped in good's favor, that no shades of grey remain and the smallest crimes carry the biggest of punishments._

_A flash. Her sisters risking their lives, time and time again, putting the safety of innocents ahead of their own. Phoebe putting the greater good above her love of Phoebe. Paige turning down a promotion simply because it was personal gain. Piper refusing to choose between her sisters in an Egyptian tomb. Leo giving up his chance at a mortal life with Piper to save Prue. Prue forgiving her father. Prue throwing herself in harm's way to save a doctor, and being killed in the process. A vision of a what would happen to her sisters if Paige hadn't been there. A young man, Piper's second son, giving up his life to give his brother a second chance and all of them a better future he'll never see. Leo's fall from grace. Hundreds of moments stream by in a barely recognizable blur, until suddenly, it all comes back into focus._

_Prue and Piper, set to rescue Phoebe. "If we die tonight, my tombstone will read lHere lies Prue. She worked hard'. Home again, in 1999."You know, we can still make the good things happen, Piper. We just have to make the right choices."_

Prue gasped as she came to. It felt like a lifetime had run by, but at the same time, like no time had passed, like waking from a particularly vivid dream. She found herself leaning back into Phoebe's arms, and raised a hand to touch her face, which was wet with a river of tears, yet a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. There was something alien in her heart, which she finally realized was a small glimmer of hope. She didn't realize until that moment that she'd stopped feeling that long ago, and it stung, in a good way. "You okay there, sweetie?"

Prue pulled herself upright and blinked several times. "Um, uh, yeah. Yeah. Did you just give me one of your premonitions?"

Phoebe smiled sheepishly. "Yeah… sorry about that. It's a new thing, and just like when we first got our powers, I can't really control when it goes off. All I can figure is that the powers that be wanted you to learn something. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Aside from a not-so-little headache," replied Prue, still somewhat in a daze.

"What did you see? You were out for a good minute or so."

"Only a minute?" Prue shook her head. "I…. I saw it. All of it."

"All of what?"

"Your reality. The way things could have been. Well, not everything, I guess. But I saw what you were trying to explain to me. I didn't want to believe it Phoebe."

Phoebe frowned. "Why not?" she asked gently.

"Because. If it were all true then… it means we've wasted so much time. So much of our lives, making it harder on ourselves by always taking the easy way out. You know, I always thought of 'A Christmas Carol' as being a load of sentimental tripe – especially the last part, where he's dead and alone? It's not. I mean, I never saw mine. But seeing the other me, what she did for this family… I was right to be jealous of her Pheebs. Of all of you. I mean, I could never go back to fix it at the expense of my little niece's life, but the rest of it… I feel like I've spent the last ten years investing for my future, only to find out it's been nothing but not-so-magic beans all along. You can say it, now."

"Say what?" asked Phoebe.

"I told you so. C'mon, I deserve it. I can see that now." She turned to face Phoebe. "That… dream walk that you took me on… it made me realize a few thing."

"Like what?"

"Like…. It's time that I stop saying 'I' and 'me' and start saying 'us' and 'we'. We're not a family, otherwise. None of us can do it alone. Two… Paige has the potential to be one hell of a witch, if we give her a chance."

"And one hell of a sister," added Phoebe. "I don't know what we would've done without her."

Prue nodded. "And I don't know what I was thinking, not letting her in. So, you can say it: I told you so."

"You were thinking that you didn't want to get hurt again," prodded Phoebe gently. "And I won't, because a certain little missy Paige taught me 'I told you so's are overrated."

"Well, I don't know about that. But there were two other things I've realized. That I am blessed with the most amazing family in the world, and rather than pushing them away because I'm afraid to lose them, I should be thankful for every moment I'm lucky enough to get with them."

"And the other?"

Prue wrinkled her nose and held up a lock of her hair between her fingers. "That I _must_ have been out of my mind to think I look better as a blonde!" Phoebe broke into a belly laugh, which Prue quickly joined her in. As their laughter died down, Prue wiped away tears that were now of laughter. "Oh, God… I honestly can't remember when the last time I laughed, was!"

"You mean to tell me that you have a whole legion of minions and you never thought to include a court jester for your highness?" asked Phoebe.

"No, they were too busy kissing ass and laughing at every mean little quip that came from my mouth to ever actually be funny themselves."

"Or to tell you that blonde is _really_ not you," added Phoebe.

"Hey, there – watch it, missy!"

Phoebe raised her hands in supplication. "Hey, no offense. But that's what family is for, right? To tell you the truth."

"And when you're not quite pulling it off? Which reminds me, I wouldn't be a good sister if I didn't tell you that that ruffled monstrosity that's supposed to be a sleeve, but it's not working," said Prue in a mischievous tone. At Phoebe's playful scowl, Prue shrugged. "Hey! Just trying to be a good sister!"

"Yeah? Save it for your actually sisters, why doncha?" replied Phoebe, putting her hands on her hips. She relaxed into a smile and tilted her head to one side. "It's good to see you smiling again, Prue."

"It's good to be seen…"

"It's not going to be easy, you know. You're in what I like to think of as premonition afterglow. Like waking up after a really good dream – but it's going to fade. And you're going to have to figure out how to hold on to what you saw and felt. Hold on to it, and keep it alive in your heart, and the rest will come."

Prue nodded. "I'll do my best. I won't lie, it's still scaring the crap out of me."

"Nothing to be ashamed of. It's like I've been telling you – we're not kids anymore. We don't need a second mom. We need a sister. And sometimes, you'll have to let them take care of you."

"I know, Pheebs." She shook her head. "You're worse than Grams."

Phoebe flung her hands up to cover her heart. "Ouch! I know it's been hard, but truly, you're a cruel, cruel woman. And yet, here I am, still giving…." She wet a nearby dishtowel with cool water and handed it over.

"Thanks." They exchanged a meaningful look and a sense of warmth settled between them as Prue cleaned the mascara from her cheeks.

"Prue?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to promise me something, before I go back to my reality."

"Don't worry, I promise I'll go back to my natural hair color as soon aspossible…"

"Prue… I'm serious."

Prue busied herself, folding the dishtowel. "Ok, Pheebs. What do you want?"

"I need you to promise me that no matter what, you won't use your Phoebe's death as an excuse. Not as a reason to not take a chance. Not for anything. I don't want it, and I bet your Phoebe doesn't want it. Live for her."

Prue licked her lips, thinking. "On one condition."

"Okay – what?"

"You have to promise to never use the death of your Prue to keep your baby away from her destiny as a witch, no matter how scared you are for her safety. I know your Prue is watching over you all and will never let anything happen to niece or nephew."

Phoebe smiled and nodded. "Of course I promise… wait – what did you just say?" she exclaimed.

"I said, don't get too over-protective of your little baby in there when she starts to make her way in the world." She nodded towards Phoebe's belly. "I thought you had to be a good listener to give advice."

"You know? How do you know?"

Prue tilted her head. "Really Pheebs? C'mon, you've never been apple-shaped…"

Phoebe blushed. "And you never miss a thing." She blinked back tears and took back the dishtowel, dabbing at the corner of her eyes. "You're gonna ruin my makeup!" she sniffled.

Prue smiled. "Serves you right." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter. "Does that have something to do with how you ended up here?"

Phoebe sighed and shrugged, non-plussed. "That's my primo theory. I don't know, could be the pregnancy mixing with Coop's magic. I have no idea what her powers are gonna be…"

A proud smile spread across Prue's face. "I'm having another niece?" Phoebe nodded, smiling as well. Prue looked down for a moment, considering something. "Except she's not really my niece. She's your Phoebe's niece. It's not quite the same, is it?"

Phoebe swallowed. "Not exactly… no offense."

"None taken. I get it. But since you can't talk to your Prue, can I just say that we're both so happy for you!"

Phoebe smiled. "Thanks. And, uh, as long as you're acting as my proxy Prue, can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

My little girl will be the first Halliwell girl of this new generation. And I'd like to name her after you. Do you that will be okay?"

"Oh, Pheebs, of course! I'm sure she'll be honored! Now… as long as we're asking…. If I do manage to find someone… and I'm lucky enough to have a little girl, can I name her after you?"

"I'm sure the me up there wouldn't have it any other way."

Prue stood up and made her way around the counter, her arms outstretched. "I think I owe you one of these." She wrapped her arms around Phoebe and for just a moment both felt like they truly had their departed sister back. "So, who has to be the one to let go?"

"On three?"

Prue nodded into Phoebe's hair. "One."

"Two."

"Three." Both stepped back and shared a smile.

Phoebe glanced at the door that led to the stairs. "We should probably get back up there before someone sends a search party."

Prue nodded. "You're right. But I have to ask one last thing."

"Shoot."

"I know this is a little morbid, but… your Prue's headstone?"

"Beloved sister."

Prue nods an a soft smile dances on her lips. "So does hers," she said finally, referring to Pheobe's marker.

Phoebe returned the smile and hooked her arm into Prue's. "C'mon. We don't wanna leave them waiting too long."

The pair made their way back to the stairs, each stealing a glance at Leo and Piper who sat on the couch, deep in discussion, and seemingly unaware that their hands were clasped together. Prue and Phoebe exchanged a conspiratorial look and chuckled silently as they made their way upstairs.


End file.
